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Chinese customs officers in eastern Shandong province have intercepted sixty thousand maps that "improperly identified" the self-governed island of Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its sovereign land.

The maps, customs representatives explained, also "failed to include important islands" in the South China Sea, where Beijing's claims clash with those of its regional neighbors, including the Philippines 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 delicate subject for Chinese authorities and its regional competitors for coral formations, maritime features and outcrops in the South China Sea.

Detailed Compliance Issues

Customs authorities said that the maps also did not contain the nine-dash line, which demarcates Beijing's claim over nearly the entire South China Sea.

The line comprises nine dashes which runs numerous nautical miles southeastward from its southern province of Hainan Island.

The seized maps also omitted the oceanic demarcation between China and Japan, officials confirmed.

Cross-Strait Status

Officials stated the maps improperly identified "the Taiwan region", without specifying what exactly the improper identification was.

China sees self-governed Taiwan as its sovereign land and has kept open the possibility of the use of military action to take the island. But Taiwanese authorities sees itself as separate from the mainland China, with its own constitution and elected leadership.

Geopolitical Disputes

Disputes in the disputed maritime region sometimes intensify - in recent days over the weekend, when maritime craft from China and the Philippine government were involved in another confrontation.

Philippine authorities alleged a Chinese vessel of deliberately ramming and deploying water jets at a government-owned Philippine craft.

But Chinese officials claimed the encounter happened after the vessel from the Philippines ignored repeated warnings and "moved perilously near" the Chinese ship.

Historical Similar Cases

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

The popular motion picture from 2023 was prohibited in the Vietnamese market and edited in the Philippine release for showing a South China Sea map with the nine-segment boundary.

The statement from China Customs did not specify where the intercepted items were intended to be sold. China supplies much of the global merchandise, from Christmas lights to stationery.

The confiscation of "violating charts" by Chinese customs officers is relatively common - though the amount of the maps intercepted in the Shandong region significantly exceeds previous confiscations. Products that fail inspection at the customs are disposed of.

In spring, customs officers at an air transportation hub in the coastal city intercepted a shipment of 143 marine maps that featured "apparent inaccuracies" in the national borders.

In August, border authorities in Hebei province seized two "non-compliant charts" that, besides other problems, included a "misdrawing" of the Tibetan border.