Vietnam bans ‘Barbie’ screening for running map showing China’s territorial claims

Authorities in Vietnam have banned commercial screenings of Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ because it contains a scene that depicts a map with the ‘nine dash line’, a representation of China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. The film, inspired by the plastic doll and starring Australian actress Margot Robbie, was due to start screening in Vietnamese cinemas as well as United States on July 21.

Vietnam has maintained that the line violates its sovereignty. Vi Kien Thanh, director general of the Vietnam Cinema Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, said on Monday that the ban was decided by the National Film Evaluation Council. “We do not grant a licence for the American movie ‘Barbie’ to release in Vietnam because it contains the offending image of the nine-dash line,” said the state-run ‘Tuoi Tre’ newspaper, also citing Vi Kien Thanh.

The Warner Bros. film starring Margot and Ryan Gosling, one of the most anticipated movies of the summer, was set to have been released in the country soon. Many of China’s neighbours, including Vietnam, have competing and overlapping territorial claims and strongly dispute China’s assertions, according to ‘Variety’.

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In 2016, a United Nations disputes resolution tribunal in The Hague ruled unanimously against the validity of the ‘nine dash line’. But, though the South China Sea arbitration ruling was final and binding, there are no clear mechanisms for its implementation and China has said it does not recognise the decision.

(With Inputs from IANS)

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