Bashi Channel

The Bashi Channel (Chinese: 巴士海峽; pinyin: Bā shì hǎi xiá) is a waterway between Mavulis Island of the Philippines and Orchid Island of Taiwan. It is a part of the Luzon Strait between the East China Sea and the South China Sea. It is characterized by windy storms during the rainy period, which lasts from June to December.

The Bashi Channel is an important passage for military operations. The Philippines and Taiwan dispute the ownership of the waters because both sides say the region lies within 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) of their shores. The channel is also significant to communication networks. Many of the undersea communication cables that carry data and telephone traffic between Asian countries pass through the Bashi Channel, making it a major potential point of failure for the Internet. In December 2006, a magnitude 6.7 submarine earthquake cut several undersea cables at the same time, causing a significant communications bottleneck that lasted several weeks.