Earlier this year, Netflix pulled the entire show in Vietnam after the country’s broadcasting authority raised a complaint about the same issue.
Netflix Philippines has removed two episodes from the Australian drama ‘Pine Gap’ after the Department of Foreign Affairs filed a complaint over the showcase of China’s illegal nine-dash line.
In an official statement, DFA revealed that it had lodged a complaint on the matter with the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) back on September 28.
“After a thorough review, the Board ruled that certain episodes of Pine Gap are ‘unfit for public exhibition.’ The MTRCB also ordered the immediate pull-out of relevant episodes by its provider, Netflix Inc, from its video streaming platform.”
Episodes two and three have scenes containing a map that showed China’s nine-dash line- a claim that was invalidated in a Hague tribunal in 2016.
This isn’t the first time that the illegal claim has been featured in a show or movie and was contested by Southeast Asian countries.
Earlier this year, Vietnam raised a similar concern over the show which prompted Netflix to pull out the entire six-episode show from the country.
Back in 2019, the Dreamworks animated movie, Abominable, was boycotted after a scene that featured a map of Asia showing China’s nine-dash line and an incomplete image of the Philippines.
DFA added that the appearance of the U-shaped claim in South China Sea is an “attempt to perpetuate and memorialize in the consciousness of the ...viewers the illegal nine-dash line.”
“Using the medium of a motion picture is but China’s unconventional approach to gain an upper hand in the territorial conflict in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea.”
Netflix has not issued a comment on the matter but subscribers of the streaming service will no longer be able to view the two episodes now tagged with “This episode removed by government demand”. It is not clear when they were pulled.
China continues to ignore the 2016 Hague ruling which has caused tensions between the country and the affected Southeast Asian countries.
Tags: #DFA, #ChinaNineDashLine, #sovereignty, #WestPhilippineSea