Vietnam pulls movie depicting China's nine-dash line map

MANILA, Philippines — Vietnam has pulled out animated DreamWorks film "Abominable" for depicting China's expansive claims in the South China Sea.

According to a report from Vietnam Insider, the film was canceled in Vietnam theaters last Sunday after viewers noticed scenes featuring a map of Beijing's nine-dash line in the disputed waterway.

A United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea-backed tribunal in had already invalidated the "cow's tongue line" or the U-shaped line on the map in its July 2016 ruling.

China's so-called nine-dash line also covers areas in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

'Abominable,' the animated movie produced by Dreamworks & Shanghai-based Pearl Studio, has been pulled from theaters in Vietnam after viewers noticed a map apparently depicting China's 9-dash line in the East Sea. (Screenshot & 'X' via Zing.) pic.twitter.com/S2OUR6xyu2

— Mike Tatarski (@miketatarski) October 14, 2019

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam had issued an order requiring all Vietnamese cinemas to stop showing the film, Reuters reported.

Film importer CGV confirmed that the film is no longer selling tickets. All trailers, information and showtimes have also been removed from the website of CGV and some other publishers, according to Vietnam Insider.

DreamWorks Animation and Shanghai-based Pearl Studio produced the film about a Chinese girl "Yi" who discovers a yeti living on her roof. The animated feature was first shown in Vietnam on October 4.

In July, Vietnam accused China of trespassing and demanded the withdrawal of a Chinese survey ship in the South China Sea.

Around the same, Chinese survey ships have also been located operating in Philippine waters in the South China Sea, prompting the government to ban all foreign marine survey ships and fire off a diplomatic protest. — Patricia Lourdes Viray

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