🔗 Share this article

Customs authorities in China in eastern Shandong province have seized sixty thousand maps that "incorrectly labeled" the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.

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

The "problematic" maps, meant for export, cannot be sold because they "threaten national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity" of China, customs representatives stated.

Cartographic materials are a contentious issue for China and its rivals for coral formations, maritime features and rock formations in the South China Sea.

Specific Violations

China Customs said that the maps also failed to include the nine-segment line, which defines China's territorial assertion over the vast majority of the South China Sea.

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

The intercepted cartographic items also omitted the maritime boundary between China and Japan, customs representatives stated.

Cross-Strait Situation

Officials stated the maps improperly identified "Taiwan province", without detailing what exactly the mislabelling was.

The Chinese government views self-governed Taiwan as its sovereign land and has kept open the possibility of the use of force to take the island. But Taiwanese authorities considers itself distinct from the Chinese mainland, with its own governing document and democratically-elected leaders.

Regional Disputes

Tensions in the disputed maritime region periodically escalate - in recent days over the weekend, when ships from China and the Philippine government figured in another encounter.

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

But Chinese officials claimed the encounter happened after the Philippine vessel disregarded multiple alerts and "moved perilously near" the Chinese ship.

Previous Precedents

The Philippine government and Vietnamese authorities are also highly vigilant to depictions of the disputed maritime region in maps.

The popular motion picture from last year was banned in Vietnam and modified in the Philippine release for showing a maritime chart with the nine dash line.

The declaration from customs authorities did not indicate where the intercepted items were intended to be sold. China provides much of the international products, from holiday decorations to office supplies.

The confiscation of "non-compliant cartographic materials" by China's border authorities is frequently occurring - though the number of the maps confiscated in Shandong significantly exceeds previous confiscations. Merchandise that are non-compliant at the customs are disposed of.

In March, border authorities at an air transportation hub in Qingdao confiscated a batch of 143 nautical charts that included "obvious errors" in the sovereign limits.

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