Actor Margot Robbie is photographed during a photocall for the upcoming Warner Bros. film “Barbie” in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 25, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake
MANILA, Philippines — The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) on Tuesday said that it is currently reviewing whether to release the highly-anticipated fantasy-comedy film “Barbie” in the country’s cinemas.
MTRCB issued the statement after Vietnam banned the film from domestic distribution over a clip featuring a nine-dash line on a Chinese map, representing its claims over areas of the South China Sea.
“We confirm that the Board has reviewed the film “Barbie” today, 04 July 2023,” MTRCB said.
“At this time, the assigned Committee on First Review is deliberating on the request of Warner Brothers F.E. Inc. for a Permit to Exhibit,” it added.
After the deliberation, the agency said it would display the committee’s decision on its website.
READ: Vietnam bans ‘Barbie’ movie over South China Sea map
The U-shaped “nine-dash line” is used on Chinese maps to illustrate its unilateral claim over vast areas of the South China Sea, including swathes of what Vietnam considers its continental shelf, where it has awarded oil concessions.
“Barbie” is the latest movie to be banned in Vietnam for depicting China’s controversial nine-dash line, which was repudiated in an international arbitration ruling by a court in The Hague in 2016. China refuses to recognize the ruling.
The movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, was originally slated to open in Vietnam on July 21, the same date as in the United States, according to state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper.
Aside from Vietnam, other countries, including the Philippines, also have overlapping claims in the territorial waters being claimed by China.
On July 12, 2016, the Philippines won the petition it filed before the arbitral tribunal against China’s all-encompassing claim over territories in the South China Sea, deemed a potential flashpoint in the region because of the giant country’s show of military might. EDV