Chinese authorities intercepts sixty thousand cartographic materials for 'improperly identifying' the island of Taiwan

Chinese customs officers in eastern Shandong province have seized 60,000 maps that "improperly identified" the self-governed island of Taiwan, which Chinese authorities considers part of its territory.

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

The "violating" maps, destined for overseas markets, cannot be sold because they "threaten national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity" of the People's Republic of China, customs representatives stated.

Maps are a sensitive topic for China and its regional competitors for coral formations, maritime features and outcrops in the disputed maritime region.

Specific Compliance Issues

Customs authorities stated that the maps also did not contain the nine-dash boundary, which demarcates China's territorial assertion over the vast majority of the South China Sea.

The demarcation includes nine segments which runs hundreds of miles southeastern direction from its southern province of Hainan.

The seized maps also failed to indicate the oceanic demarcation between China and the Japanese archipelago, authorities said.

Cross-Strait Status

Customs representatives explained the maps improperly identified "the Taiwan region", without clarifying what exactly the mislabelling was.

China sees self-ruled Taiwan as its sovereign land and has kept open the possibility of the use of military action to unify with the island. But Taiwan sees itself as separate from the Chinese mainland, with its own constitution and democratically-elected leaders.

Geopolitical Disputes

Conflicts in the South China Sea periodically escalate - just recently over the weekend, when vessels from Chinese authorities and the Philippine government participated in another encounter.

Philippine authorities claimed a Chinese ship of intentionally colliding with and using water cannons at a Philippine government vessel.

But Beijing stated the incident happened after the Philippine ship failed to heed continual notices and "moved perilously near" the Chinese ship.

Previous Precedents

The Philippines and Vietnam are also especially concerned to depictions of the disputed maritime region in maps.

The popular motion picture from last year was banned in the Vietnamese market and modified in the Philippines for displaying a South China Sea map with the nine dash line.

The statement from customs authorities did not indicate where the confiscated materials were planned for distribution. China produces much of the global merchandise, from Christmas lights to stationery.

The interception of "non-compliant cartographic materials" by China's border authorities is frequently occurring - though the number of the maps confiscated in the Shandong region substantially surpasses previous confiscations. Products that are non-compliant at the border control are disposed of.

In March, customs officers at an air transportation hub in Qingdao intercepted a shipment of one hundred forty-three nautical charts that contained "apparent inaccuracies" in the sovereign limits.

In late summer, border authorities in Hebei province seized a pair of "non-compliant charts" that, besides other problems, contained a "improper representation" of the Tibet's boundaries.