Vietnam bans ‘Barbie’ movie due to an illustration showing China’s territorial claim #Vietnam #bans #Barbie #movie #due #illustration #showing #Chinas #territorial #claim

HANOI (AP) — Vietnam’s state media have reported that the government banned distribution of the popular “Barbie” movie because it includes a view of a map showing disputed Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The newspaper Vietnam Express and other media said posters advertising “Barbie” were removed from movie distributors’ websites after Monday’s decision. With Margot Robbie playing Barbie opposite Ryan Gosling’s Ken in Greta Gerwig’s comedic look at their “perfect” world, “Barbie” was supposed to open July 21 in Vietnamese theaters.

The reports cited Vi Kien Thanh, director general of the Vietnam Cinema Department, as saying the National Film Evaluation Council made the decision. It said a map in the film shows China’s “nine-dash line,” which extends Beijing’s territorial claims far into waters that fall within areas claimed by Vietnam and other countries.

In this photo provided by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines Laoag, passengers disembark from a Vietjet Airbus A321 at the Laoag international airport in Ilocos Norte province, northern Philippines on Wednesday June 28, 2023. The Vietjet plane carrying more than 200 people made an unscheduled but safe landing in the northern Philippines on Wednesday morning after encountering an unspecified technical problem. None of the passengers and crew was hurt. (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines Laoag via AP)

A Vietjet plane carrying 214 people has made an unscheduled but safe landing in the northern Philippines after encountering an unspecified technical problem.

In this photo provided by U.S. Navy, the United States and Vietnam national ensigns are raised in unison on the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) in Da Nang, Vietnam, for a port visit, Sunday, June 25, 2023. The American aircraft carrier made a port call in Vietnam on Sunday — a rare visit by one of the U.S. Navy’s biggest ships that comes as Washington and Beijing both step up efforts to bolster ties with Southeast Asian nations.(Mass Communication 3rd Class Eric Stanton/U.S. Navy via AP)

A U.S. aircraft carrier and two guided missile cruisers are visiting Vietnam in a rare port call that comes as the United States and China increasingly vie for influence in Southeast Asia.

FILE - The U.S. carrier USS Ronald Reagan is escorted as it arrives in Busan, South Korea on Sept. 23, 2022. The American aircraft carrier was due to make a port call in Vietnam on Sunday, June 25, 2023, a rare visit by one of the U.S. Navy's biggest ships that comes as Washington and Beijing both are stepping up efforts to bolster ties with Southeast Asian nations. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

An American aircraft carrier is due to make a port call in Vietnam on Sunday. The rare visit by one of the U.S.

FILE - Daniel Ellsberg speaks during a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, Dec. 16, 2010. Ellsberg, the government analyst and whistleblower who leaked the “Pentagon Papers” in 1971, has died. He was 92. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Daniel Ellsberg, the government analyst and whistleblower who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971, has died at 92.

The “nine-dash line” is an arcane but sensitive issue for China and its neighbors that depicts Beijing’s claims to sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, which Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines reject.

An international court ruled in 2016 that the “nine-dash line” has no basis in law and the Philippines was entitled to an exclusive economic zone in part of the area claimed by Beijing. China rejected the ruling.

China says the vast majority of the South China Sea lies within its “nine-dash line,” which it uses to demarcate what it considers its maritime border. That has brought it into tense standoffs with the ASEAN nations of Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines, with Chinese fishing boats and military vessels becoming more aggressive in the disputed waters.

Companies whose advertising or other illustrations contradict Beijing’s claims are caught in the middle, potentially facing a severe backlash from Chinese customers and protests from the Chinese government.

Warner Bros. offices were closed Tuesday for the July 4 holiday.

In 2019, Vietnam ordered showings of “Abominable” canceled after moviegoers complained about a scene showing the “nine-dash line.” Politicians in the Philippines called for a boycott of all DreamWorks releases to protest the scene, and Malaysia ordered the scene to be cut from the movie.

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