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Customs authorities in China in the coastal province of Shandong have confiscated sixty thousand maps that "improperly identified" the self-governed island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.

The maps, authorities said, also "failed to include important islands" in the disputed South China Sea waters, where Beijing's claims overlap with those of its regional neighbors, including the Philippine government and Vietnam.

The "non-compliant" maps, meant for export, cannot be sold because they "compromise national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity" of China, authorities said.

Maps are a contentious issue for China and its rivals for reefs, maritime features and outcrops in the disputed maritime region.

Specific Violations

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

The line comprises nine dashes which stretches hundreds of miles southeastern direction from its most southerly province of Hainan Island.

The intercepted cartographic items also failed to indicate the oceanic demarcation between mainland China and the Japanese archipelago, officials confirmed.

Cross-Strait Status

Officials stated the maps incorrectly labeled "Taiwan province", without detailing what exactly the incorrect labeling was.

The Chinese government considers self-ruled Taiwan as its territory and has maintained the option of the use of military action to take the island. But Taiwanese authorities considers itself distinct from the mainland China, with its own governing document and democratically-elected leaders.

Regional Disputes

Conflicts in the South China Sea sometimes intensify - most recently over the weekend, when ships from China and the Philippines were involved in another confrontation.

Manila accused a China's maritime craft of deliberately ramming and deploying water jets at a official Philippine ship.

But Beijing claimed the incident happened after the Philippine vessel disregarded multiple alerts and "moved perilously near" the Chinese ship.

Previous Similar Cases

The Philippine government and Vietnamese authorities are also highly vigilant to portrayals of the South China Sea in cartographic materials.

The popular motion picture from last year was banned in the Vietnamese market and censored in the Philippine release for showing a maritime chart with the nine-segment boundary.

The announcement from customs authorities did not indicate where the intercepted items were planned for distribution. China provides much of the world's goods, from Christmas lights to office supplies.

The interception of "problematic maps" by China's border authorities is not uncommon - though the number of the maps confiscated in the Shandong region easily eclipses earlier interceptions. Goods that do not meet standards at the border control are disposed of.

In spring, border authorities at an airport in Qingdao confiscated a shipment of one hundred forty-three marine maps that featured "clear mistakes" in the sovereign limits.

In late summer, border authorities in the northern province confiscated a pair of "non-compliant charts" that, besides other problems, featured a "misdrawing" of the the Tibet region's limits.