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Chinese customs officers in eastern Shandong province have seized sixty thousand maps that "improperly identified" the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its sovereign land.

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

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

Cartographic materials are a sensitive topic for Chinese authorities and its regional competitors for coral formations, islands and outcrops in the disputed maritime region.

Specific Compliance Issues

Customs authorities stated that the maps also failed to include the nine-dash line, which demarcates Beijing's claim over the vast majority of the South China Sea.

The demarcation includes nine segments which runs hundreds of miles southeastward from its southern province of Hainan.

The seized maps also did not mark the oceanic demarcation between mainland China and the Japanese archipelago, customs representatives stated.

Cross-Strait Situation

Customs representatives explained the maps incorrectly labeled "the Taiwan region", without detailing what exactly the improper identification was.

The Chinese government considers self-governed Taiwan as its sovereign land and has not ruled out the use of military action to unify with the island. But Taiwanese authorities considers itself different from the mainland China, with its own governing document and elected leadership.

Geopolitical Tensions

Tensions in the disputed maritime region sometimes intensify - most recently over the weekend, when vessels from China and the Philippine government participated in another incident.

Manila claimed a Chinese ship of purposefully hitting and firing its water cannon at a official Philippine ship.

But Beijing claimed the encounter happened after the Philippine vessel ignored repeated warnings and "came too close to" the Chinese vessel.

Historical Precedents

The Philippines and Vietnamese authorities are also particularly sensitive to depictions of the disputed maritime region in maps.

The Barbie movie from 2023 was prohibited in Vietnam and edited in the Philippine release for depicting a maritime chart with the nine dash line.

The declaration from China Customs did not say where the seized maps were destined for sale. The country supplies much of the international products, from Christmas lights to office supplies.

The seizure of "violating charts" by Chinese customs officers is relatively common - though the number of the maps intercepted in Shandong significantly exceeds past seizures. Goods that do not meet standards at the customs are eliminated.

In spring, border authorities at an airport in Qingdao seized a shipment of 143 nautical charts that included "apparent inaccuracies" in the sovereign limits.

In late summer, border authorities in Hebei province intercepted a pair of "violating cartographic materials" that, besides other problems, featured a "misdrawing" of the Tibet's boundaries.