Philippines allows Barbie film with blurred South China Sea map

The Philippines has allowed the upcoming Barbie film to be shown in cinemas after asking its Hollywood distributor to blur a map depicting China’s “nine-dash line” claim over the South China Sea.
The fantasy comedy film about the famous doll, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, is set to open in the Southeast Asian nation on July 19.
After reviewing the film twice and consulting foreign affairs officials and legal experts, the government’s Movie and Television Review and Classification Board said it would allow it to be screened.
Beijing bases its claim to almost the entire South China Sea on the nine-dash line, a U-shaped line taking in nearly all of the resource-rich waters, which an international court found in 2016 to have no legal basis.
Vietnam, which has banned the Barbie film, also claims part of the sea along with other littoral states, including the Philippines, which brought the court action, and Malaysia.

Al Jazeera’s Barnaby Lo reports from Manila.

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