Chinese customs officials in Shandong have seized 60,000 export maps for mislabeling Taiwan and omitting key South China Sea islands. Authorities said the maps threatened China’s sovereignty by excluding the nine-dash line and other borders. The move highlights Beijing’s sensitivity over territorial depictions amid ongoing regional tensions with Taiwan, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Chinese customs officials in Shandong province have seized 60,000 maps accused of “mislabeling” Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.
Authorities said the confiscated maps also omitted key islands in the South China Sea — a region where China’s territorial claims overlap with those of the Philippines and Vietnam.
The “problematic” maps, intended for export, were blocked from sale for allegedly “endangering China’s national unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” officials said.
Maps remain a highly sensitive issue for Beijing and neighboring countries contesting reefs and islands in the South China Sea.
According to China Customs, the seized maps failed to include the nine-dash line that represents Beijing’s claim over nearly the entire South China Sea.
The nine-dash line stretches hundreds of miles from China’s southern province of Hainan, encompassing much of the disputed waters.
Officials added that the maps also did not indicate the maritime boundary separating China and Japan.
Authorities said the documents mislabelled “Taiwan province,” though they did not specify how.
China regards self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to reclaim it. Taiwan, however, maintains its own government, constitution, and democratically elected leaders.
Tensions in the South China Sea continue to flare up, including a recent incident in which Chinese and Philippine ships collided.
Manila accused a Chinese vessel of deliberately ramming and using a water cannon on a Philippine government ship, while Beijing said the Philippine vessel ignored warnings and “dangerously approached.”
Both the Philippines and Vietnam remain sensitive to how the South China Sea is depicted on maps.
In 2023, Vietnam banned the Barbie movie and the Philippines censored it for showing a South China Sea map featuring the nine-dash line.
China Customs did not disclose the destination of the seized maps, though China is a major global supplier of manufactured goods.
Confiscations of “problematic maps” are frequent, but the 60,000 seized in Shandong far exceed typical cases. Goods failing customs inspections are usually destroyed.
Earlier this year, customs officers in Qingdao seized 143 nautical charts with “obvious border errors,” while in August, Hebei officials confiscated two maps with inaccuracies, including a “misdrawing” of the Tibetan border.