Uncharted is currently gearing up to be released in South East Asia, but it is already facing backlash. Specifically from Vietnam, where the film has already been banned for its inclusion of a map featuring China's controversial nine-dash line.
Vi Kien Thanh, head of the Department of Cinema, confirmed, "The film was banned from distribution after we watched it and found it contained an illegal image of the infamous nine-dash line." The demarcation commonly appears on maps produced in China, but often appears elsewhere.
This is not the first film to face similar controversies. Dreamworks' 2019 film, Abominable, was banned in several countries around South East Asia, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia, owing to its inclusion of the nine-dash line in one scene.
The nine-dash line has appeared in maps since 1947, though the Communist Party-ruled People's Republic of China has never been able to support the claims historically or legally. The line is controversial due to the fact that it suggests jurisdiction in areas belonging to Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and more. While Chinese officials continue to support the line and China's claim to the islands and regions encompassed within it, the nine-dash line is not recognized by the international community, including authorities such as the United Nations. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) concluded in 2016 that China's claim over the maritime areas inside the nine-dash line has no lawful effect.
It is believed the nine-dash line continues to be pushed by the Chinese Communist Party as a soft claim, in order to legitimize any solid claims the government makes further in the future. An example is the island nation of Taiwan, which China continues to threaten if it does not surrender its status as an independent country. In order to minimise the legitimacy of China's claim to Taiwan, the U.S effectively banned maps showing Taiwan as a region of China.
Uncharted was set to hit theaters in Vietnam on March 18 and in China on March 14. It is the first Hollywood film to enter Chinese theaters this year. Despite the fact that it hasn't yet premiered in those territories, Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group Chairman and CEO Tom Rothman has already declared Uncharted a major success. He recently stated, "With over $100 million in box office worldwide in just one weekend, and a 90 percent positive audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, Uncharted is a new hit movie franchise for the company."
Uncharted is playing in theaters now.
Source: Reuters
Source: Trendz OH
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