Sales of Vietnamese doll plunge over face marking like China’s ‘nine-dash line’

Baby Three doll with a marking on its cheek that some say resembles China's ‘nine-dash line’ territorial claim in the South China Sea. Photograph: Nhac Nguyen/AFP/Getty Images

Regional tensions over the South China Sea have tanked the sales of a popular children’s doll in Vietnam after it was put under investigation and accused of being unpatriotic because a design marking appeared to resemble China’s “nine-dash line”.

The Baby Three doll is Chinese-made and had reportedly been hugely popular among children and Gen Z in Vietnam earlier this year. Between September, when it first gained popularity, and December the dolls reportedly generated US$1.6m in sales.