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

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

Cartographic materials are a sensitive topic for China and its rivals for coral formations, maritime features and rock formations in the disputed maritime region.

Specific Violations

Customs authorities said that the maps also did not contain the nine-segment line, which defines China's territorial assertion over nearly the entire South China Sea.

The line comprises nine dashes which stretches a significant distance southeastern direction from its most southerly province of Hainan.

The confiscated materials also failed to indicate the sea border between China and Japan, officials confirmed.

Cross-Strait Status

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

The Chinese government considers self-governed Taiwan as its territory and has maintained the option of the use of military action to take the island. But Taiwan considers itself distinct from the mainland China, with its own constitution and elected leadership.

Geopolitical Tensions

Disputes in the disputed maritime region sometimes intensify - most recently over the weekend, when maritime craft from China and the Philippines figured in another encounter.

Philippine authorities accused a China's maritime craft of purposefully hitting and firing its water cannon at a government-owned Philippine craft.

But Chinese officials said the confrontation happened after the vessel from the Philippines ignored repeated warnings and "moved perilously near" the Chinese vessel.

Previous Similar Cases

The Philippine government and Vietnam are also particularly sensitive to representations of the disputed maritime region in cartographic materials.

The popular motion picture from last year was banned in Vietnam and edited in the Philippine release for displaying a maritime chart with the controversial demarcation.

The statement from China Customs did not specify where the seized maps were planned for distribution. China provides much of the global merchandise, from holiday decorations to office supplies.

The confiscation of "non-compliant cartographic materials" by customs officials is relatively common - though the quantity of the maps intercepted in Shandong easily eclipses previous confiscations. Goods that are non-compliant at the border control are destroyed.

In March, customs officers at an air transportation hub in Qingdao seized a shipment of one hundred forty-three navigation charts that featured "obvious errors" in the national borders.

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