Second Taiwan Strait Crisis The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis , also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis , was a conflict that took place between the People ’ s Republic of China ( P . R . C . ) and the Republic of China ( R . O . C . ) governments in which the PRC shelled the islands of Quemoy and the nearby Matsu Islands along the east coast of the P . R . C . ( in the Taiwan Strait ) in an attempt to drive away the Army of the Republic of China . Overview . The crisis started with the " 823 Artillery Bombardment " ( ) at 5 : 30 on August 23 , 1958 , when the People ' s Liberation Army ( P . L . A . ) began an intense artillery bombardment against Quemoy . The R . O . C . troops on Quemoy dug in and then returned fire . In the heavy exchange of fire , roughly 2 , 500 R . O . C . soldiers and 200 P . R . C . soldiers were killed . This conflict was a continuation of the First Taiwan Strait Crisis , which had begun immediately after the Korean War . The Nationalist Chinese had begun to build on the island of Quemoy and the nearby Matsu archipelago . During 1954 , the P . L . A . began firing artillery at both Quemoy and some of the nearby Matsu islands . The American Eisenhower Administration responded to the request for aid from the R . O . C . according to its obligations in the mutual defense treaty that had been ratified in 1954 . President Eisenhower ordered the reinforcement of the U . S . Navy Seventh Fleet in the area , and he ordered American naval vessels to help the Nationalist Chinese government to protect the supply lines to the islands . Also , under a secret effort called " Operation Black Magic " , the U . S . Navy modified some of the F - 86 Sabre fighter plane s of the R . O . C . Air Force with its newly - developed AIM - 9 Sidewinder air - to - air missile s ( early models ) . These missiles gave the Nationalist Chinese pilots a decisive edge over the Soviet - made MiG - 15 and MiG - 17 fighters ( flown by the P . R . C . ) in the skies over the Matsu Islands and the Taiwan Strait . The R . O . C . pilots used these Sidewinder missiles to win air superiority over the P . R . C . pilots . Recent research from the National Archives also indicates that the U . S . Air Force was prepared for nuclear warfare against the P . R . C . Twelve long - range 203 mm ( 8 - inch ) M115 howitzer artillery pieces and numerous 155 mm howitzers were transferred from U . S . Marine Corps to the Army of the R . O . C . These were sent west to Quemoy and Kinmen Island to gain superiority in the artillery duel back and forth over the straits there . The impact of these powerful ( but conventional ) artillery pieces led some members of the P . L . A . to believe that American artillerymen had begun to use nuclear weapon s against them . Soon , the U . S . S . R . dispatched its foreign minister , Andrei Gromyko , to the Chinese capital ( Peking ) to discuss the actions of the P . L . A . and the Red Chinese Air Force , with advice of caution to the Red Chinese . On September 22 , 1958 , the Sidewinder missile was used for the first time in air - to - air combat . 32 Nationalist Chinese F - 86s engaged with 100 Red Chinese MiGs , with numerous MiGs being shot down by the Sidewinders : first missile " kills " in air - to - air combat . Soon , the P . R . C . was faced with a stalemate , the P . L . A . s artillerymen had run out of artillery shells . The Red Chinese government announced a large decrease in bombardment levels on October 6 . Aftermath . Afterwards , both sides continued to bombard each other with shells containing propaganda leaflets on alternate days of the week . This strange informal arrangement continued until the normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and the P . R . C . in 1979 . The question of " Matsu and Quemoy " became an issue in the 1960 American Presidential election when Richard Nixon accused John F . Kennedy of being unwilling to commit to using nuclear weapon s if the People ' s Republic of China invaded the Nationalist outposts . The spent shell casings have become a recyclable resource for steel for the local economy . Since the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis , Quemoy has become famous for its production of meat cleaver s made from bomb shells .