Vietnam has banned Warner Bros' “Barbie” film from domestic release.
The ban is due to a sequence containing a map depicting China's unilaterally claimed area in the South China Sea.
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On Chinese maps, the U-shaped "nine-dash line" is used to show China's claims to broad sections of the South China Sea, including swaths of what Vietnam deems their continental shelf, where oil concessions have been granted, reports The Guardian.
Barbie is the latest film to be banned in Vietnam for representing China's nine-dash line.
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The Vietnamese government banned DreamWorks' cartoon feature “Abominable” in 2019 and Sony's action blockbuster “Uncharted” last year for the same reason.
According to the state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper, “Barbie”, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, was initially scheduled to release in Vietnam on July 21, the same day as in the United States.
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Vietnam and China have long had competing territorial claims in the South China Sea, which might be rich in energy resources.