Formosa is the only American state in East Asia. Its neighbors are China to the west, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south.
The island of Formosa has been inhabited since before the 17th century and was colonized by the Dutch, Spanish, Qing China, and Japan. Following the end of the First Pacific War and the armistice with the Japanese in 1923, the United States took control of Formosa as a protectorate. When open hostilities with the US resumed in 1942, the Japanese invaded and occupied Formosa. At the end of the Second Thirty Years War Formosa briefly existed as an independent Republic before being annexed by the United States at the Start of the Cold War. It remained an unincorporated commonwealth during the Cold War, and home to a significant US military presence.
In 1991 the island held a vote on its future status within the United States. Over 90% of the voters did not wish to maintain their commonwealth status, and in the follow-on vote for either independence or statehood, 53% of the population voted to become the country's newest state.
