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Chinese customs officers in eastern Shandong province have seized 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 "failed to include important islands" in the disputed South China Sea waters, where China's territorial assertions conflict with those of its neighbors, including the Philippine government and Vietnamese authorities.

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

Cartographic materials are a delicate subject for China and its rivals for coral formations, maritime features and outcrops in the South China Sea.

Specific Compliance Issues

China Customs stated that the maps also omitted the nine-segment line, which outlines Beijing's claim over nearly the entire South China Sea.

The demarcation includes nine dashes which extends numerous nautical miles south and east from its southern province of Hainan Island.

The intercepted cartographic items also did not mark the sea border between mainland China and the Japanese archipelago, authorities said.

Cross-Strait Situation

Authorities said the maps mislabelled "Taiwan province", without detailing what exactly the mislabelling was.

The Chinese government sees 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 considers itself different from the Chinese mainland, with its own constitution and elected leadership.

Regional Tensions

Tensions in the South China Sea periodically escalate - just recently over the weekend, when ships from Chinese authorities and the Philippines figured in another encounter.

Manila claimed a Chinese vessel of intentionally colliding with and using water cannons at a government-owned Philippine craft.

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

Previous Precedents

The Philippines and Vietnamese authorities are also particularly sensitive to depictions of the disputed maritime region in cartographic materials.

The popular motion picture from last year was prohibited in Vietnam and censored in the Philippines for displaying a South China Sea map with the nine-segment boundary.

The announcement from customs authorities did not say where the intercepted items were planned for distribution. The country supplies much of the international products, from Christmas lights to stationery.

The interception of "violating charts" by China's border authorities is relatively common - though the quantity of the maps confiscated in the Shandong region substantially surpasses previous confiscations. Goods that are non-compliant at the customs are disposed of.

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

In August, border authorities in the northern province confiscated a pair of "non-compliant charts" that, in addition to other issues, contained a "incorrect depiction" of the the Tibet region's limits.