🔗 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 considers part of its sovereign land.

The maps, officials stated, also "failed to include important islands" in the South China Sea, where China's territorial assertions overlap with those of its neighbors, including the Philippines and Vietnamese authorities.

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.

Cartographic materials are a delicate subject for China and its rivals for coral formations, islands and rock formations in the disputed maritime region.

Specific Compliance Issues

China Customs explained that the maps also did not contain the nine-segment line, which defines Beijing's claim over the vast majority of the South China Sea.

The boundary consists of nine dashes which runs a significant distance southeastern direction from its southernmost province of Hainan Island.

The intercepted cartographic items also failed to indicate the oceanic demarcation between mainland China and the Japanese archipelago, customs representatives stated.

Taiwan Situation

Customs representatives explained the maps mislabelled "the Taiwan region", without detailing what exactly the improper identification was.

The Chinese government views self-governed Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to take the island. But Taiwan sees itself as distinct from the Chinese mainland, with its own governing document and popularly chosen officials.

Geopolitical Tensions

Disputes in the disputed maritime region sometimes intensify - in recent days over the weekend, when maritime craft from Chinese authorities and the Philippine government figured in another confrontation.

Manila accused a Chinese vessel of purposefully hitting and deploying water jets at a official Philippine ship.

But Beijing stated the encounter happened after the vessel from the Philippines failed to heed continual notices and "dangerously approached" the Chinese ship.

Previous Similar Cases

The Philippines and Vietnamese authorities are also particularly sensitive to representations of the South China Sea in maps.

The 2023 Barbie film from 2023 was banned in the Vietnamese market and modified in the Philippines for depicting a maritime chart with the controversial demarcation.

The statement from China Customs did not specify where the seized maps were intended to be sold. The country provides much of the global merchandise, from holiday decorations to stationery.

The seizure of "non-compliant cartographic materials" by China's border authorities is not uncommon - though the quantity of the maps intercepted in the Shandong region significantly exceeds past seizures. Merchandise that do not meet standards at the customs are destroyed.

In spring, customs officers at an airport in the coastal city seized a shipment of 143 marine maps that featured "apparent inaccuracies" in the territorial boundaries.

In August, border authorities in Hebei province intercepted a pair of "non-compliant charts" that, in addition to other issues, featured a "misdrawing" of the Tibet's boundaries.