Netflix removes Chinese web series from platform over South China sea controversy

Netflix has removed its Chinese series “Shine On Me” from its Vietnam lineup after the government intervened over the scenes showing China's disputed  “nine-dash line” map, which claims vast parts of the South China Sea, as per reports.

Vietnam’s Department of Cinema, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, pointed out how the depiction distorted historical facts and violated Vietnam’s sovereignty. 

Netflix removed the  series from its catalogue after the authorities objected to the scene showing a controversial map used by Beijing to assert territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Netflix has followed a formal government directive, confirming that it had taken down 27-episode series in Vietnam. Doing this shows how Vietnam is taking a zero tolerance stance on content linked to China’s maritime claims.

The disputed map only appears in the college lecture scene, and the authorities nonetheless have ordered the show’s removal and reclassified it under the category C, which effectively bans it from the distribution under Vietnam's cinema law.

Netflix was initially given 24 hours to comply, and the series is no longer available in Hanoi. This is not the first time things like these happened. In 2023, the streaming platform stopped the streaming of another Chinese drama "Flight to You” , in Vietnam, even though the contentious map was blurred.

Vietnam itself barred the Hollywood film ‘Barbie’ from cinemas, over a similar scene and probed brands, including a Chinese milk tea chain, and children’s toy products, for using the map.

China’s nine-dash line, which was first published in 1947. Claiming more than 80%of the South China Sea, the area is also claimed in parts by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia , Brunei and Taiwan.

These claims always fuel the long diplomatic tensions and occasional maritime standoffs across the regions. This latest takedown also shows the geopolitical disputes are increasingly shaping the content regulation in Southeast Asia. This is putting streaming platforms like Netflix in the midst of sensitive regional fault lines.