🔗 Share this article

Customs authorities in China in eastern Shandong province have intercepted sixty thousand maps that "improperly identified" the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its sovereign land.

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

The "violating" maps, c intended for foreign distribution, cannot be sold because they "endanger national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity" of China, authorities said.

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

Specific Compliance Issues

China Customs explained that the maps also omitted the nine-segment line, which outlines China's territorial assertion over the vast majority of the South China Sea.

The boundary consists of nine lines which stretches numerous nautical miles southeastern direction from its most southerly province of Hainan.

The seized maps also omitted the sea border between China and the Japanese archipelago, officials confirmed.

Taiwan Situation

Customs representatives explained the maps improperly identified "Taiwan province", without detailing what exactly the improper identification was.

The Chinese government considers self-ruled Taiwan as its sovereign land and has maintained the option of the use of force to unify with the island. But Taiwanese authorities considers itself separate from the mainland China, with its own governing document and popularly chosen officials.

Geopolitical Disputes

Conflicts in the disputed maritime region flare up occasionally - just recently over the weekend, when vessels from China and the Philippines were involved in another encounter.

Philippine authorities accused a Chinese vessel of deliberately ramming and using water cannons at a Philippine government vessel.

But Beijing claimed the encounter happened after the Philippine vessel disregarded multiple alerts and "came too close to" the Chinese ship.

Historical Precedents

The Philippine government and Vietnam are also particularly sensitive to portrayals of the South China Sea in cartographic materials.

The 2023 Barbie film from last year was prohibited in Vietnam and edited in the Philippine release for showing a South China Sea map with the nine-segment boundary.

The statement from customs authorities did not indicate where the confiscated materials were intended to be sold. China supplies much of the global merchandise, from holiday decorations to stationery.

The confiscation of "violating charts" by Chinese customs officers is relatively common - though the amount of the maps intercepted in Shandong significantly exceeds past seizures. Products that fail inspection at the border control are destroyed.

In spring, border authorities at an air transportation hub in Qingdao confiscated a shipment of 143 marine maps that contained "obvious errors" in the national borders.

In August, border authorities in the northern province intercepted two "non-compliant charts" that, among other things, contained a "misdrawing" of the the Tibet region's limits.