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Customs authorities in China in eastern Shandong province have confiscated 60,000 maps that "improperly identified" the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Chinese authorities considers part of its sovereign land.

The maps, authorities said, also "omitted important islands" in the disputed South China Sea waters, where China's territorial assertions conflict with those of its regional neighbors, including the Philippine government and Vietnam.

The "problematic" maps, meant for export, cannot be sold because they "endanger national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity" of the People's Republic of China, officials confirmed.

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

Detailed Violations

China Customs said that the maps also omitted the nine-segment line, which demarcates China's territorial assertion over nearly the entire South China Sea.

The demarcation includes nine dashes which runs hundreds of miles southeastward from its southernmost province of Hainan Island.

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

Taiwan Status

Customs representatives explained the maps incorrectly labeled "Taiwan province", without clarifying what exactly the mislabelling was.

China considers self-governed Taiwan as its sovereign land and has maintained the option of the use of force to take the island. But Taiwan considers itself separate from the Chinese mainland, with its own governing document and elected leadership.

Regional Tensions

Disputes in the South China Sea periodically escalate - in recent days over the weekend, when ships from China and the Philippines were involved in another incident.

Philippine authorities claimed a Chinese vessel of purposefully hitting and firing its water cannon at a official Philippine ship.

But Beijing said the confrontation happened after the Philippine ship ignored repeated warnings and "came too close to" the China's maritime craft.

Historical Similar Cases

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 the Vietnamese market and edited in the Philippines for showing a South China Sea map with the nine-segment boundary.

The announcement from customs authorities did not indicate where the confiscated materials were intended to be sold. The country supplies much of the international products, from Christmas lights to stationery.

The seizure of "problematic maps" by Chinese customs officers is frequently occurring - though the quantity of the maps confiscated in Shandong substantially surpasses past seizures. Merchandise that are non-compliant at the customs are disposed of.

In March, border authorities at an air transportation hub in Qingdao confiscated a shipment of 143 navigation charts that featured "apparent inaccuracies" in the sovereign limits.

In late summer, customs officers in Hebei province seized two "problematic maps" that, besides other problems, contained a "misdrawing" of the the Tibet region's limits.