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Chinese customs officers in the coastal province of Shandong have confiscated 60,000 maps that "mislabelled" the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Chinese authorities claims as part of its sovereign land.

The maps, customs representatives explained, also "left out important islands" in the disputed South China Sea waters, where China's territorial assertions overlap with those of its neighbors, including the Philippine government and Vietnam.

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

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

Specific Compliance Issues

China Customs explained that the maps also did not contain the nine-dash line, which outlines Beijing's claim over nearly the entire South China Sea.

The boundary consists of nine segments which stretches numerous nautical miles southeastward from its southernmost province of Hainan Island.

The intercepted cartographic items also omitted the oceanic demarcation between mainland China and Japan, authorities said.

Taiwan Status

Authorities said the maps improperly identified "the Taiwan region", without clarifying what exactly the improper identification was.

The Chinese government views self-ruled Taiwan as its sovereign land and has kept open the possibility of the use of military action to take the island. But Taiwan sees itself as separate from the Chinese mainland, with its own governing document and elected leadership.

Geopolitical Disputes

Conflicts in the disputed maritime region periodically escalate - most recently over the weekend, when ships from Chinese authorities and the Philippine government figured in another incident.

Philippine authorities accused a Chinese ship of deliberately ramming and firing its water cannon at a official Philippine ship.

But Chinese officials claimed the incident happened after the vessel from the Philippines ignored repeated warnings and "moved perilously near" the China's maritime craft.

Previous Precedents

The Philippines and Vietnam are also particularly sensitive to portrayals of the disputed maritime region in cartographic materials.

The Barbie movie from last year was prohibited in Vietnam and censored in the Philippine release for displaying a South China Sea map with the nine dash line.

The statement from China Customs did not say where the confiscated materials were planned for distribution. The country supplies much of the world's goods, from Christmas lights to office supplies.

The interception of "non-compliant cartographic materials" by China's border authorities is not uncommon - though the number of the maps intercepted in Shandong easily eclipses previous confiscations. Products that fail inspection at the customs are eliminated.

In spring, border authorities at an air transportation hub in Qingdao intercepted a shipment of one hundred forty-three nautical charts that contained "obvious errors" in the territorial boundaries.

In August, customs officers in Hebei province seized a pair of "problematic maps" that, besides other problems, featured a "incorrect depiction" of the Tibetan border.