Netflix has pulled a Chinese drama series, Shine On Me, from its Vietnam platform after the Vietnamese government objected to an episode featuring a map with contested territorial claims in the South China Sea. The map includes the so-called nine-dash line, which China uses to demarcate its territorial claims but Vietnam has condemned as "inaccurate" and "infringing upon national sovereignty." The disputed map appears in episode 25 of the 27-episode romance drama, in a scene about China's solar power potential.
The Vietnamese culture ministry issued a demand for the series to be removed on January 3 and gave Netflix 24 hours to comply. Netflix has since removed the series from its Vietnam platform. The move is significant as it highlights the ongoing territorial dispute between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea. China has increasingly asserted its claims of sovereignty over several land parcels and their adjacent waters, despite complaints from Vietnam and other countries.
The incident has sparked a response from China's state-run newspaper Global Times, which urged Hanoi to "separate cultural exchanges from [the] South China Sea issue." The dispute is likely to continue, with China arguing that historical evidence supports its claims and Vietnam and other countries objecting to its territorial assertions.