We present the highlights of the 1996-1998 Taiwan IMAGES program, describing the objectives and some of the preliminary results from the third cruise in the western Pacific and the South China Sea (IMAGES III/MD106-IPHIS Cruise). This cruise was successfully completed in June, 1997, with the cooperation of scientists from six countries. Specifically, we introduce the primary goals of the studies conducted in the South China Sea, which were mainly proposed and designed by scientists from Taiwan to further enhance our understanding of Quaternary variability in the East Asia monsoon, the Kuroshio Current, and the western Pacific warm pool systems, We also briefly describe the cores obtained from the South China Sea during this cruise and the preliminary scientific results drawn from shipboard measurements of the cores.