Netflix Withdraws Chinese Drama Following Vietnam's Objection to Controversial Map

Thu Jan 08 2026 10:32:06 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The streaming giant Netflix has pulled the Chinese drama 'Shine on Me' from its Vietnam platform after the Vietnamese government protested against its depiction of a disputed map in the South China Sea.

Netflix has complied with Vietnam's request to remove the romance series 'Shine on Me' due to its portrayal of China's nine-dash line, which Vietnam considers a violation of its territorial sovereignty. The action follows increased tensions over conflicting territorial claims in the South China Sea, where several countries, including Vietnam, have expressed strong opposition to China's assertions.

Netflix has pulled a Chinese drama series from its Vietnam platform after Hanoi objected to an episode featuring a map with contested territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The 27-episode romance drama Shine on Me includes images of the so-called nine-dash line which Vietnam has condemned as 'inaccurate' and 'infringing upon national sovereignty'.

China uses the line in its maps to demarcate its territorial claims in the South China Sea. Vietnam is one of many countries that object to these claims.

Vietnam's culture ministry issued a demand for the series to be removed on 3 January and gave Netflix 24 hours to comply.

A BBC check found it could no longer be viewed on Netflix's Vietnam platform.

The disputed map appears several times in episode 25 of Shine On Me, in a scene about China's solar power potential.

The show's main characters attend a lecture where a map of China showing part of the nine-dash line is projected on an auditorium screen.

Shine On Me is popular within China and other territories, ranking among Netflix's Top 10 shows in Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam before it was pulled.

Beijing has not officially commented on the ban, although its state-run newspaper Global Times published an article urging Hanoi to 'separate cultural exchanges from [the] South China Sea issue'.

In recent years, China has increasingly asserted its claims of sovereignty over several land parcels and their adjacent waters in the South China Sea, despite complaints from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei.

A 2016 international tribunal in The Hague ruled against Chinese claims in the South China Sea, but Beijing did not recognize the judgment.

In 2023, Vietnam had also ordered Netflix to remove another Chinese drama, Flight to You, over a similar map.

There have been instances of other productions being banned by Vietnam for featuring the nine-dash line, underscoring the sensitivity surrounding the issue.