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Customs authorities in China in eastern Shandong province have seized 60,000 maps that "mislabelled" the self-governed island of Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory.

The maps, officials stated, also "omitted important islands" in the South China Sea, where Beijing's claims overlap with those of its neighbors, including the Philippine government and Vietnam.

The "non-compliant" maps, destined for overseas markets, cannot be sold because they "compromise national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity" of China, authorities said.

Cartographic materials are a contentious issue 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 omitted the nine-dash line, which demarcates China's territorial assertion over almost the whole South China Sea.

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

The intercepted cartographic items also did not mark the oceanic demarcation between China and the Japanese archipelago, officials confirmed.

Taiwan Status

Authorities said the maps incorrectly labeled "the Taiwan region", without detailing what exactly the improper identification was.

China considers self-ruled Taiwan as its territory and has maintained the option of the use of force to unify with the island. But Taiwan considers itself distinct from the Chinese mainland, with its own constitution and elected leadership.

Geopolitical Disputes

Disputes in the South China Sea sometimes intensify - in recent days over the weekend, when ships from China and the Philippine government were involved in another incident.

Manila alleged a Chinese vessel of purposefully hitting and firing its water cannon at a Philippine government vessel.

But Beijing said the encounter happened after the vessel from the Philippines ignored repeated warnings and "dangerously approached" the Chinese vessel.

Previous Precedents

The Philippine government and Vietnamese authorities are also especially concerned to depictions of the South China Sea in cartographic materials.

The Barbie movie from 2023 was banned in the Vietnamese market and edited in the Philippines for showing a South China Sea map with the nine dash line.

The announcement from customs authorities did not indicate where the intercepted items were destined for sale. The country supplies much of the international products, from Christmas lights to stationery.

The confiscation of "non-compliant cartographic materials" by Chinese customs officers is frequently occurring - though the amount of the maps seized in Shandong substantially surpasses earlier interceptions. Products that fail inspection at the border control are disposed of.

In spring, customs officers at an airport in Qingdao confiscated a shipment of 143 navigation charts that contained "apparent inaccuracies" in the sovereign limits.

In late summer, border authorities in the northern province seized two "violating cartographic materials" that, among other things, contained a "misdrawing" of the Tibetan border.