🔗 Share this article

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

The maps, authorities said, also "omitted important islands" in the disputed South China Sea waters, where China's territorial assertions overlap with those of its neighbors, including the Philippines and Vietnamese authorities.

The "problematic" maps, c intended for foreign distribution, cannot be sold because they "endanger national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity" of China, customs representatives stated.

Maps are a contentious issue for Chinese authorities and its rivals for coral formations, islands and outcrops in the South China Sea.

Detailed Compliance Issues

China Customs stated that the maps also did not contain the nine-segment line, which outlines Beijing's claim over almost the whole South China Sea.

The demarcation includes nine lines which extends hundreds of miles southeastern direction from its most southerly province of Hainan Island.

The intercepted cartographic items also did not mark the oceanic demarcation between China and Japan, officials confirmed.

Taiwan Status

Officials stated 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 take the island. But Taiwan considers itself different from the mainland China, 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 China and the Philippine government participated in another incident.

Manila accused a Chinese vessel of intentionally colliding with and using water cannons at a Philippine government vessel.

But Chinese officials stated the incident happened after the vessel from the Philippines failed to heed continual notices and "dangerously approached" the China's maritime craft.

Historical Similar Cases

The Philippine government and Vietnam are also highly vigilant to representations of the South China Sea in maps.

The Barbie movie from last year was prohibited in the Vietnamese market and censored in the Philippines for showing a maritime chart with the nine-segment boundary.

The statement from customs authorities did not indicate where the confiscated materials were intended to be sold. The country supplies much of the world's goods, from Christmas lights to stationery.

The interception of "non-compliant cartographic materials" by China's border authorities is frequently occurring - though the quantity of the maps intercepted in the Shandong region easily eclipses past seizures. Merchandise that fail inspection at the border control are disposed of.

In spring, customs officers at an airport in Qingdao intercepted a batch of one hundred forty-three nautical charts that featured "apparent inaccuracies" in the national borders.

In August, border authorities in Hebei province seized two "problematic maps" that, besides other problems, featured a "incorrect depiction" of the Tibet's boundaries.