When Taiwan's then-President Lee Teng-hui traveled to New York in 1995 to visit his alma mater, Cornell University, it set off a chain of events that became known as the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis. China, angrily accusing the United States of betraying its own "one-China policy," carried out months of military drills, including conducting missile tests in the direction of Taiwan.
The United States responded by sailing two aircraft carrier battle groups through the strait to try to bring an end to the crisis.