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Customs authorities in China in eastern Shandong province have confiscated sixty thousand maps that "mislabelled" the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its sovereign land.

The maps, customs representatives explained, also "failed to include important islands" in the disputed South China Sea waters, where China's territorial assertions conflict with those of its regional neighbors, including the Philippines and Vietnamese authorities.

The "problematic" maps, destined for overseas markets, cannot be sold because they "endanger national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity" of China, officials confirmed.

Maps are a sensitive topic for China and its regional competitors for reefs, islands and rock formations in the South China Sea.

Specific Compliance Issues

Customs authorities stated that the maps also did not contain the nine-dash boundary, which demarcates China's territorial assertion over nearly the entire South China Sea.

The boundary consists of nine dashes which runs numerous nautical miles southeastern direction from its southernmost province of Hainan.

The intercepted cartographic items also omitted the maritime boundary between China and the Japanese archipelago, officials confirmed.

Taiwan Status

Customs representatives explained the maps mislabelled "Taiwan province", without specifying what exactly the improper identification was.

The Chinese government considers self-governed Taiwan as its territory and has kept open the possibility of the use of force to unify with the island. But Taiwan considers itself separate from the mainland China, with its own governing document and elected leadership.

Geopolitical Disputes

Disputes in the disputed maritime region sometimes intensify - most recently over the weekend, when vessels from Chinese authorities and the Philippine government were involved in another incident.

Philippine authorities accused a China's maritime craft of purposefully hitting and firing its water cannon at a government-owned Philippine craft.

But Chinese officials said the encounter happened after the Philippine ship disregarded multiple alerts and "dangerously approached" the Chinese vessel.

Historical Precedents

The Philippine government and Vietnam are also highly vigilant to depictions of the South China Sea in cartographic materials.

The Barbie movie from 2023 was banned in the Vietnamese market and modified in the Philippines for showing a South China Sea map with the nine-segment boundary.

The statement from China Customs did not say where the intercepted items were destined for sale. The country supplies much of the global merchandise, from Christmas lights to stationery.

The interception of "violating charts" by China's border authorities is frequently occurring - though the quantity of the maps seized in Shandong easily eclipses previous confiscations. Products that fail inspection at the customs are destroyed.

In March, customs officers at an airport in the coastal city seized a shipment of one hundred forty-three marine maps that included "clear mistakes" in the sovereign limits.

In August, border authorities in Hebei province intercepted two "violating cartographic materials" that, among other things, contained a "incorrect depiction" of the Tibet's boundaries.