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Customs authorities in China in eastern Shandong province have intercepted sixty thousand maps that "improperly identified" the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Chinese authorities considers part of its sovereign land.

The maps, authorities said, also "failed to include important islands" in the South China Sea, where Beijing's claims conflict with those of its regional neighbors, including the Philippine government and Vietnam.

The "violating" maps, meant for export, cannot be sold because they "threaten national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity" of the People's Republic of China, officials confirmed.

Cartographic materials are a sensitive topic for China and its regional competitors for reefs, maritime features and rock formations in the disputed maritime region.

Detailed Compliance Issues

Customs authorities said that the maps also failed to include the nine-dash line, which demarcates China's territorial assertion over nearly the entire South China Sea.

The boundary consists of nine lines which extends numerous nautical miles southeastward from its most southerly province of Hainan.

The intercepted cartographic items also did not mark the maritime boundary between China and the Japanese archipelago, customs representatives stated.

Taiwan Status

Authorities said the maps mislabelled "Taiwan province", without specifying what exactly the mislabelling was.

The Chinese government sees self-ruled Taiwan as its sovereign land and has kept open the possibility of the use of force to unify with the island. But Taiwan sees itself as separate from the mainland China, with its own constitution and democratically-elected leaders.

Regional Disputes

Tensions in the disputed maritime region periodically escalate - in recent days over the weekend, when vessels from Chinese authorities and the Philippines participated in another incident.

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

But Chinese officials said the confrontation happened after the Philippine vessel ignored repeated warnings and "came too close to" the Chinese ship.

Historical Similar Cases

The Philippine government and Vietnam are also highly vigilant to portrayals of the disputed maritime region in maps.

The popular motion picture from 2023 was prohibited in Vietnam and edited in the Philippines for displaying a South China Sea map with the controversial demarcation.

The announcement from China Customs did not specify where the confiscated materials were intended to be sold. The country produces much of the international products, from holiday decorations to stationery.

The interception of "problematic maps" by customs officials is frequently occurring - though the quantity of the maps seized in the Shandong region significantly exceeds earlier interceptions. Merchandise that fail inspection at the border control are eliminated.

In March, customs officers at an airport in Qingdao intercepted a shipment of one hundred forty-three navigation charts that contained "apparent inaccuracies" in the national borders.

In late summer, border authorities in the northern province confiscated a pair of "non-compliant charts" that, besides other problems, included a "misdrawing" of the Tibet's boundaries.