'Barbie' Gets Vietnam Ban Over South China Sea Map Depiction

The upcoming “Barbie” film has been banned from distribution in Vietnam due to a scene featuring a map that depicted China’s claimed territory in the South China Sea, The Hill reports.

• Offending Map: The state-run media outlet, Tuoi Tre newspaper, reported that the country’s film department has banned the movie as the map labels parts of the sea that Vietnam claims as its own as Chinese territory, terming it as “offending.”
• China’s Nine-Dash Line: China uses a nine-dash, U-shaped line to illustrate its claims over vast areas of the South China Sea. This includes areas where Vietnam claims its continental shelf sits.
• Release Date and Cast: The highly-anticipated film, starring Margot Robbie, Issa Rae, and Ryan Gosling, was originally slated to premiere in Vietnam on July 21, the same date as the U.S. release.
• Previous Bans: This is not the first time Vietnam has banned a film for its depiction of the South China Sea. Vietnamese officials pulled DreamWorks’s animated film “Abominable” in 2019 and banned the viewing of Sony’s action movie “Unchartered” last year due to the same reason.

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