Netflix has pulled a Chinese drama series from its Vietnam platform after Hanoi objected to an episode featuring a map with contested territorial claims in the South China Sea.
The 27-episode romance drama Shine on Me includes images of the so-called nine-dash line which Vietnam has condemned as 'inaccurate' and 'infringing upon national sovereignty'.
China uses the line in its maps to demarcate its territorial claims in the South China Sea. Vietnam is one of many countries that object to these claims.
Vietnam's culture ministry issued a demand for the series to be removed on 3 January and gave Netflix 24 hours to comply.
A BBC check on Tuesday found it could no longer be viewed on Netflix's Vietnam platform.
The disputed map appears several times in episode 25 of Shine On Me, in a scene about China's solar power potential. The show's main characters attend a lecture where a map showing part of the nine-dash line is projected on an auditorium screen.
Shine On Me is popular within China and other territories, ranking among Netflix's Top 10 shows in Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam before it was pulled.
Beijing has not officially commented on the ban, although its state-run newspaper Global Times published an article on Tuesday urging Hanoi to 'separate cultural exchanges from [the] South China Sea issue'.
In recent years, China has increasingly asserted its claims of sovereignty over several land parcels and their adjacent waters in the South China Sea, despite complaints from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.
Hanoi's significant stand against such depictions highlights its sensitivity to perceived encroachments on national sovereignty, with past instances also leading to the removal of other media depicting similar controversies. This situation illustrates the tense political context surrounding the South China Sea and the enduring impacts on cultural exchanges.
