Key Factors
- The movie was slated to launch on 21 July in Vietnam.
- It is the most recent to be banned in Vietnam for depicting the controversial nine-dash line.
- The U-shaped line is used on Chinese language maps for example its claims over the South China Sea.
Vietnam has banned the upcoming “Barbie” film from home distribution over a scene that includes a map that exhibits China’s unilaterally claimed territory within the South China Sea.
What is the controversy about?
The U-shaped “nine-dash line” is used on Chinese language maps for example its claims over huge areas of the South China Sea, together with swathes of what Vietnam considers its continental shelf, the place it has awarded oil concessions.
“Barbie” is the most recent film to be banned in Vietnam for depicting China’s controversial nine-dash line, which was repudiated in a world arbitration ruling by a courtroom in The Hague in 2016. China refuses to recognise the ruling.
Is Barbie the primary movie to be banned in Vietnam?
In 2019 the Vietnamese authorities pulled DreamWorks’ animated movie “Abominable” and final 12 months it banned Sony’s motion film “Unchartered” for a similar cause. Netflix additionally eliminated an Australian spy drama “Pine Hole” in 2021.
“Barbie”, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, was initially slated to open in Vietnam on 21 July, the identical date as in the US, based on state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper.
“We don’t grant license for the American film ‘Barbie’ to launch in Vietnam as a result of it comprises the offending picture of the nine-dash line,” the paper reported, citing Vi Kien Thanh, head of the Division of Cinema, a authorities physique in command of licensing and censoring international movies.
Warner Bros didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Vietnam and China have lengthy had overlapping territorial claims to a doubtlessly energy-rich stretch within the South China Sea. The Southeast Asian nation has repeatedly accused Chinese language vessels of violating its sovereignty.