🔗 Share this article

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

The maps, officials stated, also "omitted important islands" in the South China Sea, where China's territorial assertions overlap with those of its regional neighbors, including the Philippine government and Vietnamese authorities.

The "violating" maps, meant for export, cannot be sold because they "threaten national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity" of China, authorities said.

Maps are a delicate subject for China and its regional competitors for reefs, islands and outcrops in the disputed maritime region.

Detailed Violations

China Customs explained that the maps also omitted the nine-segment line, which defines Beijing's claim over nearly the entire South China Sea.

The demarcation includes nine lines which extends a significant distance south and east from its southern province of Hainan.

The confiscated materials also did not mark the oceanic demarcation between mainland China and the Japanese archipelago, officials confirmed.

Cross-Strait Status

Officials stated the maps incorrectly labeled "the Taiwan region", without clarifying what exactly the mislabelling was.

China sees self-ruled Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out the use of military action to take the island. But Taiwan sees itself as distinct from the Chinese mainland, with its own governing document and democratically-elected leaders.

Geopolitical Disputes

Tensions in the South China Sea periodically escalate - just recently over the weekend, when maritime craft from Chinese authorities and the Philippine government were involved in another confrontation.

Manila claimed a Chinese vessel of deliberately ramming and firing its water cannon at a Philippine government vessel.

But Beijing claimed the encounter happened after the Philippine vessel ignored repeated warnings and "moved perilously near" the Chinese ship.

Previous Similar Cases

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

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

The announcement from customs authorities did not indicate where the intercepted items were destined for sale. The country provides much of the world's goods, from holiday decorations to stationery.

The interception of "non-compliant cartographic materials" by customs officials is not uncommon - though the number of the maps seized in the Shandong region easily eclipses past seizures. Goods that do not meet standards at the border control are disposed of.

In spring, border authorities at an airport in the coastal city confiscated a shipment of 143 marine maps that included "clear mistakes" in the national borders.

In late summer, customs officers in Hebei province confiscated a pair of "non-compliant charts" that, among other things, contained a "incorrect depiction" of the Tibet's boundaries.