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Chinese customs officers in eastern Shandong province have seized 60,000 maps that "incorrectly labeled" the self-governed island of Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory.

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

The "problematic" maps, meant for export, cannot be sold because they "threaten national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity" of China, officials confirmed.

Maps are a sensitive topic for Chinese authorities and its rivals for coral formations, maritime features and rock formations in the South China Sea.

Detailed Violations

Customs authorities said that the maps also did not contain the nine-dash boundary, which demarcates China's territorial assertion over the vast majority of the South China Sea.

The demarcation includes nine dashes which extends numerous nautical miles southeastern direction from its southernmost province of Hainan Island.

The intercepted cartographic items also failed to indicate the maritime boundary between China and Japan, authorities said.

Taiwan Status

Authorities said the maps incorrectly labeled "the Taiwan region", without specifying what exactly the mislabelling was.

The Chinese government views self-governed Taiwan as its sovereign land and has kept open the possibility of the use of force to take the island. But Taiwan considers itself distinct from the Chinese mainland, with its own constitution and popularly chosen officials.

Regional Tensions

Disputes in the South China Sea flare up occasionally - most recently over the weekend, when ships from Chinese authorities and the Philippines figured in another incident.

Manila accused a China's maritime craft of deliberately ramming and using water cannons at a government-owned Philippine craft.

But Chinese officials said the encounter happened after the Philippine ship ignored repeated warnings and "moved perilously near" the China's maritime craft.

Historical Precedents

The Philippines and Vietnam are also especially concerned to representations of the South China Sea in maps.

The Barbie movie from 2023 was prohibited in Vietnam and censored in the Philippines for showing a South China Sea map with the nine-segment boundary.

The declaration from customs authorities did not specify where the confiscated materials were planned for distribution. China provides much of the global merchandise, from holiday decorations to stationery.

The interception of "violating charts" by China's border authorities is not uncommon - though the quantity of the maps confiscated in Shandong significantly exceeds previous confiscations. Goods that are non-compliant at the customs are eliminated.

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

In August, border authorities in the northern province seized two "violating cartographic materials" that, in addition to other issues, included a "improper representation" of the Tibetan border.