As a staunch anti-communist, Chiang pushed his doctrine of pro-reunification under the ideology of liberating the mainland from the Communists using force. Hence, the army of civilians, legal specialists, troops, and other skilled workers that came with him viewed Taiwan as a temporary base for building industrial and military strength towards the level necessary to retake the mainland. In August 1955, and later in 1958, Chiang demonstrated his commitment for settling KMT-Communist Party of China (CCP) representative rivalry with military force by instigating conflict along the Tachen, Kinmen and Matsu islands in the First Taiwan Strait Crisis. The PROC began shelling the islands in response to Chiang's deployment of approximately 60,000 armed troops into the area, which prompted the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis. In the 1960s smaller skirmishes were accompanied by unconventional strategies aimed at the liberation of China. Chiang Kai-shek deployed planes which dropped leaflets and sent the air force on reconnaissance and espionage missions i.e. blowing up bridges and infrastructure in the mainland. Nevertheless, the 1970s was marked by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758, signaling Taiwan's decline in the international community, and with it, the desire to recapture the mainland was replaced by the necessity to survive under the new unstable status quo.