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Chinese customs officers in the coastal province of Shandong have intercepted sixty thousand maps that "incorrectly labeled" the self-governed island of Taiwan, which Chinese authorities claims as part of its sovereign land.

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

The "violating" maps, destined for overseas markets, cannot be sold because they "endanger 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 rivals for coral formations, islands and outcrops in the South China Sea.

Specific Compliance Issues

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

The boundary consists of nine lines which stretches a significant distance southeastern direction from its southernmost province of Hainan.

The intercepted cartographic items also did not mark the sea border between China and Japan, authorities said.

Taiwan Situation

Authorities said the maps mislabelled "the Taiwan region", without specifying what exactly the improper identification was.

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

Geopolitical Tensions

Disputes in the disputed maritime region periodically escalate - in recent days over the weekend, when ships from China and the Philippines were involved in another incident.

Philippine authorities claimed a China's maritime craft of intentionally colliding with and firing its water cannon at a government-owned Philippine craft.

But Beijing claimed the confrontation happened after the Philippine vessel failed to heed continual notices and "dangerously approached" the Chinese vessel.

Historical Similar Cases

The Philippines and Vietnam are also highly vigilant to representations of the South China Sea in cartographic materials.

The popular motion picture from 2023 was prohibited in the Vietnamese market and censored in the Philippines for displaying a maritime chart with the controversial demarcation.

The statement from China Customs did not specify where the intercepted items were destined for sale. China supplies much of the world's goods, from holiday decorations to stationery.

The seizure of "violating charts" by China's border authorities is relatively common - though the quantity of the maps intercepted in Shandong substantially surpasses past seizures. Products that are non-compliant at the customs are disposed of.

In March, border authorities at an airport in Qingdao confiscated a batch of 143 marine maps that contained "clear mistakes" in the sovereign limits.

In August, border authorities in the northern province confiscated a pair of "non-compliant charts" that, in addition to other issues, included a "improper representation" of the Tibetan border.