Mao Ning, deputy director of information at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, weighed in on the debate sparked by a map shown in the film Barbie. His remarks were carried by Fox News as part of the broader coverage of the issue.
In remarks addressed to regional partners, Mao Ning urged Vietnam to refrain from tying cultural exchanges to the ongoing dispute over the South China Sea, specifically the nine-dash line that appears in one frame of the movie. He stated that China’s stance on the South China Sea remains clear and firm, and he suggested that Vietnam should keep cultural collaborations separate from territorial questions.
Vietnam recently halted the local release of Barbie, a decision confirmed on July 3. The controversy centers on a water area included within Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, a region also claimed by Vietnam. The dispute has a long history. In 2013, the Philippines sought international arbitration at The Hague to challenge China’s claims in the area. A ruling in 2016 found that Beijing had no legal basis for asserting historic rights within the nine-dash line.
This episode is part of a broader pattern in which media releases and cultural products face scrutiny or bans in the region. Earlier incidents involved fictional works such as the animated film Everest and the movie Uncharted: Not on the maps, both of which faced screening cancellations in Vietnam for reasons connected to the same territorial sensitivities.
Earlier reporting from socialbites.ca highlighted a list of significant film rental bans around the world, illustrating how cultural products can become entangled in geopolitical disputes. The current situation in Vietnam reflects continuing tensions between national sovereignty claims and the global perception of cultural exchange as a neutral activity.
Source: socialbites.ca