Vietnam has decided to prohibit the highly-anticipated “Barbie Movie” from being shown in the country due to a scene featuring a map that displays China’s disputed territory in the South China Sea, according to state media reports on Monday.
The “Barbie Movie,” which stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, was initially scheduled for release in Vietnam on July 21, the same date as in the United States, as reported by the state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper.
Vi Kien Thanh, the head of the Department of Cinema, a government body responsible for licensing and censoring foreign films, stated, “We are withholding approval for the American film ‘Barbie’ to be screened in Vietnam due to the inclusion of the objectionable image depicting the nine-dash line.”
The Chinese government uses the U-shaped “nine-dash line” on its maps to assert its territorial claims over significant portions of the South China Sea, including areas that Vietnam regards as part of its continental shelf, where it has granted oil concessions.
The movie “Barbie” joins the list of films banned in Vietnam for depicting China’s controversial nine-dash line, which was invalidated by an international arbitration ruling from the Hague in 2016. China, however, refuses to acknowledge the ruling.
In 2019, the Vietnamese government withdrew DreamWorks’ animated film “Abominable,” and last year, it prohibited the screening of Sony’s action movie “Uncharted” for the same reason.
You can also read: FBI Launches National Swatting Database to Combat Rising Threat of Dangerous Prank Calls
Warner Bros has not yet provided a comment in response to the ban. Vietnam and China have long-standing overlapping territorial disputes in the South China Sea, an area that is believed to be rich in energy resources.