How ‘Barbie’ and Blackpink Entered South China Sea Map Spat

Of all of the issues that would inflame tensions in a area that would sometime be a theater of conflict between superpowers, the film “Barbie” was not an apparent catalyst. But right here we’re.

The authorities in Vietnam this week banned the upcoming Greta Gerwig movie over a map in “Barbie” that they mentioned exhibits a Chinese language map of territory within the South China Sea, the place the 2 neighbors have competing claims.

The Philippines, one other Southeast Asian nation that disputes China’s territorial claims within the sea, is now deciding whether or not to ban the star-studded movie as effectively. And Vietnam mentioned on Thursday that it was investigating a South China Sea map on the web site of an organization selling Blackpink, a Okay-pop band scheduled to carry out in Hanoi this month.

Taking such stands in opposition to seemingly innocuous cultural exports could appear to be an overreaction. However Vietnam’s responses make extra sense if they’re considered inside historic and political contexts. Right here’s a primer.

What’s Vietnam’s beef with ‘Barbie’?

The top of the Vietnam Cinema Division, an company within the one-party state, mentioned on Monday that the Warner Bros. movie wouldn’t be launched domestically due to a scene that features the so-called nine-dash line — a map that seems on official Chinese language paperwork and encircles a lot of the South China Sea.

The official, Vi Kien Thanh, didn’t say which scene Vietnam hadn’t appreciated. A number of commentators puzzled if he meant the one displaying Barbie, performed by Margot Robbie, standing in entrance of a crudely drawn world map. Some additionally famous that the nine-dash line in that scene seems to lie very removed from Asia.

If that’s the offending map, “I actually can’t see what the fuss is about,” mentioned Invoice Hayton, the creator of books on Vietnam and the South China Sea.

“The map within the movie seems to bear no relation to an actual map of the world,” Mr. Hayton added. “This appears to be like like Vietnam’s censors making an attempt to display their patriotism and usefulness to the regime.”

Pham Thu Dangle, a spokeswoman for Vietnam’s International Ministry, mentioned in a short assertion that “merchandise and publications that promote the nine-dash line will not be permitted” to be used or distribution within the nation. She didn’t say which scene of the movie Vietnam objected to.

Warner Bros. mentioned in a short assertion that the map within the movie was a “childlike crayon drawing” that “was not supposed to make any sort of assertion.”

Why is the South China Sea necessary to Vietnam?

Vietnam and China are neighbors with a very advanced relationship. On one hand, each are dominated by a Communist Get together, making them ideological allies. They’re additionally busy buying and selling companions that share an 800-mile border.

But China occupied Vietnam for a millennium and invaded it as not too long ago as 1979. And below Xi Jinping, China’s highly effective chief, Beijing has constructed army outposts on contested islands within the South China Sea. It additionally rejected a global tribunal’s landmark 2016 ruling that sided with the Philippines by saying that China’s expansive declare to sovereignty over the ocean had no authorized foundation.

The South China Sea, specifically, is so delicate that Vietnam and China got here dangerously near an precise battle there in 2014, after a Chinese language firm parked an oil rig in disputed waters off the Vietnamese coast.

All of that contributes to a concern amongst many Vietnamese that China may sometime begin a conflict within the physique of water, which Vietnam calls the “East Sea.” These issues have helped form Vietnam’s current efforts to counterbalance its relationship with China by constructing stronger ties with the USA and different international locations.

This ‘Barbie’ ban appears to suit a sample.

Vietnamese censors have banned or altered a number of different motion pictures that confirmed disputed areas as being below Beijing’s management. The record contains “Loopy Wealthy Asians” (2018), “Abominable” (2019) and “Uncharted” (2022), amongst others.

Why are Blackpink and the Philippines concerned?

The Philippines is contemplating banning “Barbie” earlier than its scheduled launch there on July 19, with authorities saying this week that the film was below evaluation. A Philippine senator, Francis N. Tolentino, mentioned that screening it will denigrate Philippine sovereignty.

Individually, a Vietnamese official mentioned this week that the nation’s Tradition Ministry was making an attempt to confirm whether or not a Beijing-based Blackpink live performance promoter, iMe, helps the nine-dash line. The promoter additionally apologized for displaying a map of the nine-dash line on its web site, the Vietnamese information media reported.

The promoter’s Chinese language web site was inaccessible on Friday. Its Korean department, together with Blackpink’s manufacturing firm, YG Leisure, didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

As of Friday, Blackpink, a Okay-pop juggernaut, was nonetheless scheduled to carry out two exhibits on the nationwide stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, in late July.

What’s the view in China and Vietnam?

The “Barbie” ban was extensively mentioned on-line in China this week, after the International Ministry in Beijing criticized Vietnam on Tuesday for linking the South China Sea to “regular cultural alternate.” Many Chinese language social media customers have been dismissive of the spat, saying that Hollywood would at all times select China over Vietnam.

In contrast, a couple of distinguished Vietnamese observers mentioned in interviews this week that their authorities’s “Barbie” ban was in line with earlier efforts to guard Vietnamese sovereignty within the sea, and partly a mirrored image of the Communist Get together’s sensitivity to home criticism of its China coverage.

The “Barbie” ban was additionally profitable, they added, as a result of it acquired the worldwide information media speaking once more about Vietnam’s territorial grievances.

Chau Doan contributed reporting from Hanoi, Vietnam. Li You contributed analysis from Shanghai.