🔗 Share this article

Chinese customs officers in the coastal province of Shandong have intercepted 60,000 maps that "incorrectly labeled" the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its sovereign land.

The maps, authorities said, also "left out important islands" in the South China Sea, where Beijing's claims clash with those of its neighbors, including the Philippines and Vietnam.

The "non-compliant" maps, c intended for foreign distribution, cannot be sold because they "endanger national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity" of China, officials confirmed.

Cartographic materials are a contentious issue for China and its rivals for reefs, maritime features and outcrops in the disputed maritime region.

Detailed Compliance Issues

Customs authorities explained that the maps also omitted the nine-dash line, which defines China's territorial assertion over nearly the entire South China Sea.

The boundary consists of nine dashes which stretches hundreds of miles southeastern direction from its southern province of Hainan Island.

The confiscated materials also did not mark the sea border between mainland China and Japan, officials confirmed.

Taiwan Status

Customs representatives explained the maps improperly identified "Taiwan province", without clarifying what exactly the improper identification was.

China views self-ruled Taiwan as its sovereign land and has not ruled out the use of force to unify with the island. But Taiwanese authorities views itself as different from the mainland China, with its own governing document and elected leadership.

Regional Disputes

Disputes in the South China Sea periodically escalate - in recent days over the weekend, when maritime craft from China and the Philippine government participated in another encounter.

Manila accused a China's maritime craft of purposefully hitting and using water cannons at a Philippine government vessel.

But Beijing stated the encounter happened after the vessel from the Philippines failed to heed continual notices and "came too close to" the Chinese vessel.

Previous Precedents

The Philippines and Vietnam are also particularly sensitive to depictions of the disputed maritime region in cartographic materials.

The Barbie movie from last year was banned in the Vietnamese market and censored in the Philippine release for showing a South China Sea map with the nine-segment boundary.

The statement from China Customs did not say where the seized maps were planned for distribution. China supplies much of the global merchandise, from holiday decorations to office supplies.

The interception of "problematic maps" by customs officials is relatively common - though the number of the maps intercepted in the Shandong region substantially surpasses previous confiscations. Goods that do not meet standards at the border control are disposed of.

In spring, customs officers at an air transportation hub in Qingdao seized a batch of one hundred forty-three navigation charts that included "obvious errors" in the territorial boundaries.

In late summer, customs officers in Hebei province intercepted a pair of "violating cartographic materials" that, among other things, featured a "misdrawing" of the Tibet's boundaries.