Netflix removes ‘Pine Gap’ episodes after complaints over a map of the South China Sea

Netflix has quietly removed two episodes of the Australian spy drama ‘Pine Gap’ from the service in the Philippines after a complaint was raised by the government. This takedown will only affect Netflix users in the Philippines, while users in Malaysia will still be able to watch these episodes.

The episodes taken down were the second and third in a six-part series. In the two episodes, a map was briefly shown in a spy base control room. The map in question included the ‘nine-dash line’, something China uses to claim the South China Sea.

In the second episode, the characters discuss the location of a Malaysian ship. During the scene, they actually have a discussion about whether the sea is China’s or not, so the inclusion of the nine-dash line seems quite intentional.

Malaysia has had a strong stance against China’s nine-dash line, with Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Saifuddin Abdullah saying “For China to claim that the whole of South China Sea belongs to China, I think that is ridiculous.”

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) was not happy with these episodes, deeming them “unfit for public exhibition”. On September 28th, the Philippine films board handed down its ruling, and Netflix recently made a public announcement saying the episodes were “removed by government demand”.

According to the DFA, the inclusion of the map was “no accident” and “such portrayal is a crafty attempt to perpetuate and memorialize in the consciousness of the present generation of viewers and the generations to come the illegal nine-dash line”.

The Philippines isn’t the only country fighting against these episodes. In July, Vietnam’s broadcast authorities made a similar complaint and got the whole show removed from its services in the country.

Additionally, the DreamWorks film ‘Abominable’ also included a map with the nine-dash line, causing Vietnam and the Philippines to ban the film, with Malaysia following suit after the producers refused to cut the scene.

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