Chinese customs officials in Shandong province have confiscated 60,000 maps they say misrepresented the country’s borders — including depictions of Taiwan and disputed areas of the South China Sea — in what authorities described as a move to safeguard “national unity and sovereignty.”
The maps, intended for export, allegedly omitted several islands Beijing claims and failed to include the “nine-dash line” — the controversial boundary China uses to mark its claim over nearly the entire South China Sea. Officials said the omissions rendered the maps “problematic” and unfit for sale.
China’s Ministry of Customs said the seized materials also failed to indicate the maritime boundary between China and Japan, while “mislabeling Taiwan province,” though it did not clarify how. Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to assert control, while Taipei maintains its own democratic government and constitution.
The South China Sea remains one of Asia’s most volatile flashpoints, with overlapping territorial claims involving the Philippines, Vietnam, and other neighbours. Tensions flared again last weekend after Manila accused a Chinese vessel of ramming and firing water cannons at a Philippine government ship — an incident Beijing blamed on “dangerous” maneuvers by the Philippine side.
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Maps and other depictions of regional borders are routinely scrutinized by Chinese authorities. Customs inspections frequently result in confiscations when products fail to reflect Beijing’s official territorial positions. The 60,000 seized maps mark one of the largest such actions in recent years.
Earlier this year, officials in Qingdao intercepted 143 nautical charts that allegedly contained “obvious border errors,” while another seizure in Hebei province in August targeted two maps showing “misdrawn” Tibetan borders.
The policing of cartographic representations has also extended beyond China’s borders. In 2023, Vietnam banned the Barbie movie, and the Philippines censored scenes from it, after a map shown in the film appeared to include the nine-dash line — a symbol of Beijing’s expansive maritime claim.
While the latest statement from China Customs did not disclose the intended export destination of the seized maps, the agency reiterated that “all products leaving China must accurately reflect the country’s territorial integrity.” Goods that fail inspection are typically destroyed.