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Chinese customs officers in the coastal province of Shandong have seized sixty thousand maps that "improperly identified" the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.

The maps, officials stated, also "omitted important islands" in the disputed South China Sea waters, where China's territorial assertions conflict with those of its neighbors, including the Philippine government and Vietnamese authorities.

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.

Cartographic materials are a delicate subject for Chinese authorities and its regional competitors for reefs, maritime features and outcrops in the South China Sea.

Detailed Violations

Customs authorities stated that the maps also omitted the nine-dash boundary, which demarcates China's territorial assertion over the vast majority of the South China Sea.

The boundary consists of nine segments which extends numerous nautical miles southeastern direction from its southernmost province of Hainan.

The confiscated materials also omitted the maritime boundary between China and Japan, authorities said.

Taiwan Situation

Customs representatives explained the maps improperly identified "the Taiwan region", without specifying what exactly the incorrect labeling was.

China views self-ruled Taiwan as its territory and has maintained the option of the use of military action to take the island. But Taiwanese authorities views itself as different from the Chinese mainland, with its own governing document and elected leadership.

Geopolitical Disputes

Disputes in the disputed maritime region periodically escalate - most recently over the weekend, when vessels from China and the Philippines figured in another encounter.

Philippine authorities accused a Chinese ship of deliberately ramming and deploying water jets at a Philippine government vessel.

But Beijing said the incident happened after the Philippine vessel failed to heed continual notices and "moved perilously near" the Chinese vessel.

Previous Similar Cases

The Philippine government and Vietnamese authorities are also highly vigilant to representations of the disputed maritime region in maps.

The Barbie movie from 2023 was prohibited in Vietnam and modified in the Philippines for showing a South China Sea map with the controversial demarcation.

The statement from customs authorities did not specify where the intercepted items were destined for sale. China supplies much of the international products, from holiday decorations to office supplies.

The interception of "non-compliant cartographic materials" by Chinese customs officers is frequently occurring - though the quantity of the maps intercepted in Shandong easily eclipses past seizures. Merchandise that fail inspection at the customs are disposed of.

In spring, customs officers at an airport in the coastal city confiscated a batch of one hundred forty-three nautical charts that featured "clear mistakes" in the sovereign limits.

In August, customs officers in Hebei province intercepted a pair of "violating cartographic materials" that, besides other problems, contained a "incorrect depiction" of the Tibetan border.