Warner Bros.' upcoming Barbie movie has stirred controversy before its release. This raises the possibility that Southeast Asian countries will ban the movie because of a scene that features a controversial map with nine dotted lines. These are the U-shaped lines that China uses on its maps to claim almost the entire disputed South China Sea. Many countries around the South China Sea that neighbor China see this claim as a threat to their sovereignty.
Some time ago, Vietnam's National Film Evaluation Board banned the screening of the movie Barbie in the country, citing the nine-dotted line map. With this ban, Barbie joins the list of films banned in Vietnam for depicting a map with "nine dotted lines". Other films that have been banned in Vietnam include Abominable, a 2019 DreamWorks animated film, and Uncharted, a 2022 Sony film.
The head of Vietnam's film department has said that the Barbie movie was banned because of its depiction of a map showing China's unilateral claim to disputed territory in the South China Sea.
In comments published by Vietnam's state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper, Vi Kien Thanh said, "We do not grant license for the American movie ‘Barbie’ to release in Vietnam because it contains the offending image of the nine-dash line."
The ban also affects the Philippines, which is considering banning the film. The Philippine Film and Television Classification and Review Board announced that the film Barbie is under review. The reason for the review was not explained and no decision has been made on whether the movie will be allowed to be shown in all theaters in the Philippines.
The review comes after Philippine Senator Francis Tolentino urged film regulators to ban the film nationwide. Tolentino told CNN Philippines that showing the film would denigrate Philippine sovereignty.
According to Jose Antonio Custodio, a Filipino military historian, showing the nine-dash line in the Barbie movie is considered "ruthless capitalism" because while it benefits Beijing, it is very demeaning to other countries.
What Is The Nine-Dash Line?
The nine-dash line is an imaginary U-shaped line, or "cow's tongue," often depicted on maps as nine dotted lines. This claim overlaps with the claims of several countries in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and the Philippines.
The line consists of a series of dotted lines that encircle most of the South China Sea and has been a source of controversy for years. Not surprisingly, the South China Sea is one of the world's busiest fishing grounds and trade routes, and also contains abundant but untapped oil and natural gas resources.
China has claimed the area bounded by the line since the late 1940s. But Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei reject the claim, saying it violates their sovereignty. The zone extends 1,200 miles south of the Chinese mainland and covers more than 80 percent of the South China Sea. The Chinese government has claimed the entire area, citing "historical rights," including the islands and archipelagos within it.
In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague declared the "nine-dash line" illegal, but China refused to recognize the ruling. The existence of these lines is controversial, as they are not recognized by international law and overlap with the exclusive economic zones of other countries.
