Vietnam ordered an automobile importer to remove navigation apps that show maps reflecting Chinese territorial claims that are rejected by Hanoi, adding to a wave of pushback against map’s showing the “nine-dash line”
The country’s automobile registrar told the importer based in northern Vietnam to take the app out of Chinese-made cars it distributes in the country, said Nguyen To An, head of motor-vehicle quality in the registration office. The maps showed the nine-dash line reflecting China’s disputed claim to sovereignty over about 80% of the East Sea (China names “South China Sea”). Bloomberg reported.
The app ban in Vietnam is part of a widening crackdown by Southeast Asian countries against depictions of disputed territorial delineations.
Map’s showing the “nine-dash line” on China’s Zotye T600 car
Last week, Vietnamese officials ordered cinemas to halt screenings of “Abominable,” a DreamWorks Animation feature that showed the nine-dash line on a map.
The animated movie also drew calls for a boycott against Dreamworks in the Philippines and was withdrawn from a scheduled debut in Malaysia over the map.
Last week, the news website VnExpress reported that the Saigontourist Travel company was slapped with a 50 million dong ($2,150) fine for circulating tourism brochures issued by a Chinese city with the nine-dash line included.
Vietnam, which fought a war with its fellow Communist country along their land border in 1979, has been among the nations pushing back against Beijing’s territorial claims in the East Sea. China’s nine-dash line encompasses waters the U.S. has said could contain unexploited hydrocarbons worth $2.5 trillion.
By Mai Ngoc Chau | Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal.