Vietnam Bans “Barbie” Movie For Showing China’s Nine-Dash Line

Leslie Soule

According to state media reports on Monday, the highly-anticipated film “Barbie” by Warner Bros has been banned from distribution in Vietnam due to a scene featuring a map displaying China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. This includes the U-shaped “nine-dash line” that is used by China to assert its control over large portions of the sea, some of which Vietnam considers part of its own territory. The ban on “Barbie” is just the latest example of movies being prohibited in Vietnam for depicting China’s disputed nine-dash line, despite an international arbitration ruling by The Hague in 2016 that rejected its legitimacy. It should be noted that China continues to reject this ruling.

The Vietnamese government has taken measures to restrict the release of certain international films in recent years. DreamWorks’ animated film “Abominable” and Sony’s action movie “Unchartered” were both banned for undisclosed reasons. In 2021, Netflix also removed the Australian spy drama “Pine Gap” from its platform. Adding to this list is the American movie “Barbie,” which was scheduled to be released in Vietnam on July 21, but was denied a license due to its portrayal of the controversial nine-dash line. The Department of Cinema, a government body responsible for licensing and censoring foreign films, made this decision. Unfortunately, Warner Bros has not commented on the matter yet. This dispute between Vietnam and China revolves around territorial claims in the South China Sea, an area believed to hold significant energy resources. Chinese vessels have been accused by Vietnam of repeatedly violating its sovereignty.