|
The move comes shortly after Vietnam, another
claimant in the South China Sea, also banned the Sony Pictures
action movie, which stars Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg. It was
released in the Philippines on Feb. 23.
A two-second frame in the movie contains an image of the
so-called nine-dash line, which marks China's claims in the
South China Sea, a strategic waterway. The scene "is contrary to
national interest," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The U-shaped line is a feature used on Chinese maps to
illustrate its maritime territory in a region where Taiwan,
Vietnam, Brunei, and Malaysia, the Philippines all have
competing claims.
A 2016 ruling by an arbitration tribunal in The Hague
invalidated China's claims to almost the entire waterway through
which about $3 trillion worth of ship-borne trade passes
annually. Beijing did not participate in the court proceedings
and does not recognise the ruling.
Sony's Columbia Pictures Industries Inc was ordered to stop
screening the film and has complied, the foreign ministry said.
Sony Pictures did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request
for comment.
In 2019, the Philippines' foreign ministry requested DreamWorks
to shut down cinema screenings of animated film "Abominable"
after a scene showed the same Chinese nine-dash line.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
