The South China Sea is home to valuable oil and gas fields.
Hanoi:
Vietnam has banned a new Hollywood film starring Tom Holland over scenes with a map showing Beijing’s claims to the South China Sea, state media reported on Saturday.
The “Uncharted” action and adventure caper shows a map with the so-called nine-line line, which outlines Beijing’s extensive claims to the disputed waters, where Hanoi has rival claims.
The Sony film, starring Mark Walhberg, Antonio Banderas and Holland, was scheduled to be released nationally on March 18.
“During the review of the film, the National Evaluation and Classification Council found that the image of the nine dotted lines appeared in the film,” said Vi Kien Tan, director of the Vietnam Film Department, at the state-controlled Zing news agency.
“Therefore, this film will be banned from screening.”
On the official Facebook page of the film, Vietnamese users left comments that disapprove of the map.
“Hoang Sa Truong Sa belongs to Vietnam!” Read one, referring to the disputed Parcel and Spratly Islands.
The long-standing issue has been widely challenged in the film world.
In the 2018 romantic comedy “Crazy Rich Asians”, a scene with a designer bag with a map of the world showing the disputed islands of the South China Sea under Beijing control was cut in Vietnam.
A year later, Hanoi withdrew DreamWorks animated film “Abominable” from the screens on the same subject, with Netflix also being asked to drop episodes of “Pine Gap” last year for similar scenes.
The South China Sea is home to valuable oil and gas fields and shipping lanes, and many of China’s neighbors have expressed concern that it is seeking to expand its reach.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated by a synergy stream.)
