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The Conversation
The Conversation
Politics
Donald Rothwell, Professor of International Law, Australian National University

What is the 'nine-dash line' and what does it have to do with the Barbie movie?

The new Barbie film starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling is set for imminent release. But according to Vietnam’s state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper the film’s release has been barred. The head of the Department of Cinema, a government body in charge of licensing and censoring foreign films, 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

Vietnam’s response to the Barbie movie’s depiction of the South China Sea shows how sensitive these matters are in South East Asia, and especially in Vietnam.

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