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Chinese customs officers in eastern Shandong province have intercepted 60,000 maps that "incorrectly labeled" the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory.

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

The "problematic" maps, meant for export, cannot be sold because they "compromise 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, maritime features and outcrops in the disputed maritime region.

Detailed Compliance Issues

Customs authorities said that the maps also did not contain the nine-dash line, which defines Beijing's claim over nearly the entire South China Sea.

The demarcation includes nine dashes which runs hundreds of miles south and east from its southernmost province of Hainan.

The confiscated materials also did not mark the maritime boundary between China and Japan, authorities said.

Cross-Strait Status

Customs representatives explained the maps mislabelled "the Taiwan region", without specifying what exactly the mislabelling was.

China considers self-governed Taiwan as its territory and has kept open the possibility of the use of military action to unify with the island. But Taiwanese authorities considers itself different from the Chinese mainland, with its own constitution and popularly chosen officials.

Regional Disputes

Disputes in the disputed maritime region sometimes intensify - in recent days over the weekend, when vessels from Chinese authorities and the Philippines participated in another confrontation.

Manila claimed a Chinese ship of purposefully hitting and deploying water jets at a Philippine government vessel.

But Beijing claimed the confrontation happened after the Philippine vessel disregarded multiple alerts and "dangerously approached" the Chinese vessel.

Historical Similar Cases

The Philippine government and Vietnam are also especially concerned to portrayals of the South China Sea in maps.

The 2023 Barbie film from last year was prohibited in the Vietnamese market and modified in the Philippine release for showing a South China Sea map with the controversial demarcation.

The announcement from customs authorities did not indicate where the intercepted items were intended to be sold. The country provides much of the world's goods, from Christmas lights to office supplies.

The interception of "non-compliant cartographic materials" by China's border authorities is not uncommon - though the amount of the maps intercepted in Shandong substantially surpasses earlier interceptions. Merchandise that do not meet standards at the border control are eliminated.

In March, border authorities at an air transportation hub in Qingdao confiscated a shipment of one hundred forty-three navigation charts that featured "apparent inaccuracies" in the territorial boundaries.

In August, customs officers in the northern province confiscated a pair of "problematic maps" that, among other things, contained a "incorrect depiction" of the Tibet's boundaries.