All of that contributes to a fear among many Vietnamese that China could someday start a war in the body of water, which Vietnam calls the “East Sea.” Those concerns have helped shape Vietnam’s recent efforts to counterbalance its relationship with China by building stronger ties with the United States and other countries.

Vietnamese censors have banned or altered several other movies that showed disputed areas as being under Beijing’s control. The list includes “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018), “Abominable” (2019) and “Uncharted” (2022), among others.

The Philippines is considering banning “Barbie” before its scheduled release there on July 19, with authorities saying this week that the movie was under review. A Philippine senator, Francis N. Tolentino, said that screening it would denigrate Philippine sovereignty.

Separately, a Vietnamese official said this week that the country’s Culture Ministry was trying to verify whether a Beijing-based Blackpink concert promoter, iMe, supports the nine-dash line. The promoter also apologized for displaying a map of the nine-dash line on its website, the Vietnamese news media reported.