"[Google's] methodology for affixing borders and naming key features is completely unregulated and deviates from traditional mapping doctrine," writes Ethan Merel in the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law. "Google customizes its maps to adhere to each individual country’s beliefs and laws, so that its maps do not show a single and objective reality, but rather affirm existing perspectives of the world."

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3058283/why-google-maps-shows-you-different-borders-depending-on-where-you-are

Why Google Maps Shows You Different Borders, Depending On Where You Are www.fastcoexist.com Google has become the de facto arbiter of national border placement, and it's basically trying to not piss anyone off.