South China Sea map complaint sees Netflix pull ‘Pine Gap’ episodes in the Philippines
- Authorities ruled in September that certain episodes of Australian show ‘Pine Gap’ violated Philippine sovereignty and were ‘unfit for public exhibition’
- Earlier this year Vietnam lodged a complaint over the same issue, prompting Netflix to pull the entire six-episode drama in the country
The Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday it had lodged a complaint over the map which included the line – shown briefly in the drama Pine Gap – with the Philippines’ broadcasting authority.
Episodes two and three of the show had been tagged “This episode removed by government demand”. It was not clear when they were pulled.
Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board ruled in September that certain episodes of the show violated Philippine sovereignty and were “unfit for public exhibition”, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
“The portrayal of the illegal nine-dash line in Pine Gap is no accident as it was consciously designed and calculated to specifically convey a message that China’s nine-dash line legitimately exists,” the department said, citing the broadcasting authority’s decision.
The department said it “expects Netflix to comply with the ruling”.
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Rachel Arenas, who was chair of the broadcasting authority when the decision was handed down, said that Netflix had been ordered to remove episodes two, three and four. Episode four was still available Monday.