Pine Gap, a spy drama on the popular streaming site Netflix, had two of its episodes removed in the Philippines due to a complaint issued over a featured map in the episodes.
Specifically, the map depicted Chinese claims in the South China Sea. On Monday, the Philippines requested for Netflix to remove episodes two and three of the six-part Australian series, stating that the map shown was a violation of its sovereignty.
By the end of Monday, the episodes were deleted in the Philippines. The company also released a statement that said that the episodes had been “removed by government demand.” No further details were given.
According to the DFA, the board said that the map was “no accident” as it was “consciously designed and calculated to specifically convey a message that China’s nine-dash line legitimately exists”.
Additionally, they stated that “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 who had an issue with the map. Back in July, broadcasting authorities in Vietnam were also against the depiction of the map. This caused Netflix to also remove spy drama Pine Gap from their services in the country.
“Netflix’s violations offended and hurt the sensibilities of the entire people of Vietnam,” the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information stated on its website.
Art Daniella Sison
