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

The maps, authorities said, also "omitted important islands" in the South China Sea, where China's territorial assertions clash 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, authorities said.

Maps are a sensitive topic for Chinese authorities and its rivals for coral formations, islands and rock formations in the South China Sea.

Specific Violations

Customs authorities stated that the maps also failed to include the nine-segment line, which outlines China's territorial assertion over almost the whole South China Sea.

The line comprises nine lines which extends numerous nautical miles south and east from its most southerly province of Hainan Island.

The seized maps also failed to indicate the oceanic demarcation between China and Japan, customs representatives stated.

Taiwan Situation

Authorities said the maps mislabelled "the Taiwan region", without specifying what exactly the incorrect labeling was.

China sees self-ruled Taiwan as its sovereign land and has kept open the possibility of the use of force to take the island. But Taiwan sees itself as different from the Chinese mainland, with its own governing document and democratically-elected leaders.

Regional Tensions

Conflicts in the South China Sea sometimes intensify - in recent days over the weekend, when ships from China and the Philippine government participated in another encounter.

Philippine authorities claimed a Chinese vessel of purposefully hitting and deploying water jets at a government-owned Philippine craft.

But Chinese officials said the encounter happened after the Philippine vessel ignored repeated warnings and "moved perilously near" the Chinese vessel.

Previous Similar Cases

The Philippines and Vietnamese authorities are also particularly sensitive to representations of the disputed maritime region in cartographic materials.

The 2023 Barbie film from last year was prohibited in Vietnam and modified in the Philippine release for depicting a maritime chart with the nine dash line.

The declaration from China Customs did not indicate where the confiscated materials were destined for sale. China provides much of the international products, from holiday decorations to office supplies.

The interception of "non-compliant cartographic materials" by Chinese customs officers is frequently occurring - though the number of the maps intercepted in the Shandong region significantly exceeds past seizures. Merchandise that are non-compliant at the customs are destroyed.

In March, customs officers at an air transportation hub in Qingdao confiscated a batch of one hundred forty-three navigation charts that included "clear mistakes" in the national borders.

In August, border authorities in the northern province intercepted two "violating cartographic materials" that, besides other problems, featured a "incorrect depiction" of the the Tibet region's limits.