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Chinese customs officers in eastern Shandong province have seized sixty thousand maps that "incorrectly labeled" the self-governed island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.

The maps, officials stated, also "left out important islands" in the disputed South China Sea waters, where Beijing's claims overlap with those of its neighbors, including the Philippine government and Vietnam.

The "non-compliant" maps, destined for overseas markets, cannot be sold because they "compromise national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity" of the People's Republic of China, customs representatives stated.

Maps are a contentious issue for China and its rivals for reefs, maritime features and rock formations in the disputed maritime region.

Specific Compliance Issues

Customs authorities explained that the maps also did not contain the nine-segment line, which defines China's territorial assertion over the vast majority of the South China Sea.

The line comprises nine segments which stretches hundreds of miles southeastern direction from its southern province of Hainan Island.

The seized maps also did not mark the oceanic demarcation between mainland China and Japan, authorities said.

Taiwan Situation

Authorities said the maps mislabelled "Taiwan province", without clarifying what exactly the incorrect labeling was.

The Chinese government sees self-ruled Taiwan as its sovereign land and has kept open the possibility of the use of force to take the island. But Taiwan sees itself as separate from the mainland China, with its own governing document and popularly chosen officials.

Geopolitical Disputes

Disputes in the South China Sea sometimes intensify - most recently over the weekend, when ships from Chinese authorities and the Philippine government were involved in another confrontation.

Manila claimed a Chinese vessel of purposefully hitting and using water cannons at a Philippine government vessel.

But Beijing said the incident happened after the Philippine vessel ignored repeated warnings and "moved perilously near" the Chinese ship.

Historical Similar Cases

The Philippines and Vietnamese authorities are also particularly sensitive to portrayals of the South China Sea in maps.

The 2023 Barbie film from 2023 was banned in Vietnam and censored in the Philippines for depicting a maritime chart with the nine dash line.

The announcement from China Customs did not say where the intercepted items were planned for distribution. The country provides much of the international products, from holiday decorations to stationery.

The interception of "problematic maps" by Chinese customs officers is frequently occurring - though the amount of the maps seized in the Shandong region easily eclipses earlier interceptions. Merchandise that are non-compliant at the border control are destroyed.

In March, border authorities at an airport in Qingdao seized a shipment of one hundred forty-three navigation charts that featured "obvious errors" in the sovereign limits.

In August, customs officers in Hebei province confiscated a pair of "non-compliant charts" that, among other things, contained a "misdrawing" of the Tibetan border.