Vietnam bans 'Barbie' movie due to an illustration showing China's territorial claim

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.

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 theatres.

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.

The "nine-dash line" is an arcane but sensitive issue for China and its neighbours that shows Beijing's maritime border extending into areas claimed by other governments and encompasses most of the South China Sea. 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.

Asked about the issue at a daily briefing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, "China's position on the South China Sea issue is clear and consistent."

"We believe that the countries concerned should not link the South China Sea issue with normal cultural and people-to-people exchanges," Mao said.

However, China is exceedingly sensitive when it comes to how its national image and border claims are portrayed in entertainment and by businesses. For example, it has routinely retaliated against companies from hotels to airlines that it believes have suggested that self-governing Taiwan -- with its own political system, country code and currency -- is anything other than a part of China.