Barbie movie banned in Vietnam over map of China’s claims in South China Sea – Deadline

Vietnam banned commercial showings of the Warner Bros. movie Barbie Because of a scene depicting a map of the South China Sea with the “Nine Divide Line” which the Vietnamese government objects to.

The film, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, was scheduled to be released in Vietnam on July 21.

The controversial “Nine Divide Line” represents China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, which is disputed by Vietnam. The U-shaped line was also rejected in an international arbitration award by a court in The Hague in 2016. China refuses to recognize the ruling.

Phy Kin Thanh, director-general of the Vietnamese Cinema Department, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the ban was decided by the National Council for Vietnamese Film Evaluation.

We do not license the American movie Barbie in Vietnam because it contains the offensive image of the nine-comma line. Toy Tree.

Other films depicting the line have been banned in Vietnam in recent years, including DreamWorks Animation loathsome and sony Not rentedwhile Netflix was ordered to remove the Australian spy drama Pine Gap From her service in Vietnam in 2021.

China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei each have competing claims in the South China Sea.