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Chinese customs officers in eastern Shandong province have intercepted 60,000 maps that "mislabelled" the self-governed island of Taiwan, which Chinese authorities 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 Vietnamese authorities.

The "non-compliant" maps, destined for overseas markets, cannot be sold because they "compromise national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity" of the People's Republic of China, authorities said.

Cartographic materials are a contentious issue for China and its regional competitors for reefs, islands and outcrops in the South China Sea.

Specific Violations

China Customs said that the maps also failed to include the nine-dash boundary, which defines Beijing's claim over the vast majority of the South China Sea.

The demarcation includes nine lines which extends hundreds of miles southeastern direction from its southern province of Hainan Island.

The seized maps also omitted the maritime boundary between China and the Japanese archipelago, officials confirmed.

Cross-Strait Status

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

The Chinese government sees self-ruled Taiwan as its sovereign land and has maintained the option of the use of military action to take the island. But Taiwanese authorities sees itself as distinct from the Chinese mainland, with its own governing document and popularly chosen officials.

Geopolitical Tensions

Conflicts in the disputed maritime region periodically escalate - just recently over the weekend, when vessels from China and the Philippines were involved in another incident.

Philippine authorities claimed a Chinese vessel of deliberately ramming and deploying water jets at a official Philippine ship.

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

Historical Similar Cases

The Philippine government and Vietnamese authorities are also particularly sensitive to depictions of the South China Sea in cartographic materials.

The popular motion picture from last year was prohibited in the Vietnamese market and edited in the Philippines for showing a maritime chart with the nine-segment boundary.

The declaration from customs authorities did not say where the confiscated materials were intended to be sold. The country supplies much of the global merchandise, from Christmas lights to stationery.

The confiscation of "non-compliant cartographic materials" by China's border authorities is relatively common - though the quantity of the maps confiscated in Shandong substantially surpasses previous confiscations. Products that do not meet standards at the border control are destroyed.

In spring, border authorities at an airport in the coastal city seized a batch of one hundred forty-three navigation charts that included "clear mistakes" in the sovereign limits.

In August, customs officers in Hebei province intercepted two "non-compliant charts" that, among other things, included a "incorrect depiction" of the the Tibet region's limits.