According to government media reports on Monday, Vietnam has banned the distribution of the long-awaited "Barbie" film produced by Warner Brothers in the country due to a scene displaying a map that shows the South China Sea according to unilateral Chinese sovereignty claims. China uses what it calls the "nine-dash line" on maps to illustrate its one-sided claims over vast areas of the South China Sea, including large parts of what Vietnam considers its continental shelf, where it has issued oil exploration licenses.
"Barbie" is the latest film to be banned in Vietnam for depicting the controversial Chinese nine-dash line, which had been rejected by a court in The Hague in an international arbitration case in 2016. China refuses to acknowledge that ruling. Vietnam and China have long overlapping claims in an area that is believed to be rich in energy resources in the South China Sea.
