Geography of Taiwan its narrowest. Part of the continental shelf, the Strait is no more than deep, and has become a land bridge during glacial periods. To the south, the island of Taiwan is separated from the Philippine island of Luzon by the -wide Luzon Strait. The South China Sea lies to the southwest, the East China Sea to the north, and the Philippine Sea to the east. Smaller islands of the archipelago include the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait west of the main island, with an area of , the tiny islet of Xiaoliuqiu off the southwest coast, and Orchid Island
Free area of the Republic of China China" or simply the "Taiwan Area". The term "Tai-Peng-Kin-Ma" is also essentially equivalent except that it only refers to the four main islands of the region - Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, to the exclusion of the South China Sea area possessions. The term is opposed to "mainland area", which is practically viewed synonymous to mainland China. The term "free area" or "Free China" was used during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) to describe the territories under the control of the Kuomintang (KMT) government in Chongqing (at the time romanized as Chungking), as opposed to the parts of China under