(March 21): Vietnam officials are investigating the Chinese milk tea brand Chagee, which is set to open its first store in Vietnam, for using images of the so-called “nine-dash line” map on its mobile app, according to a posting on the Ho Chi Minh City party committee’s website.

Any violations involving the provision, use, or transmission of information and images of Vietnam’s map that infringe upon national sovereignty will be addressed and handled in accordance with the law, the posting cited Tran Binh Thien, Deputy Chief Inspector of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City.

The department will also investigate information on social media related to Chagee’s badge featuring the image of President Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum but with false captions, Lao Dong newspaper reported on its website. 

Vietnam aggressively monitors all references to the demarcation known as the nine-dash line. Inspections of particular children’s toys were stepped up last week over concerns that imagery on the doll’s face resembles the map of contested waters in the South China Sea.

The movie Barbie was banned from cinemas last year due to a scene that shows the map. The nation also asked Snapchat to remove an image of China’s disputed South China Sea map on its mobile app.

The Vietnamese unit of the milk tea brand did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

China claims more than 80% of the South China Sea and backs this up with a 1947 map that shows vague dashes — the nine-dash line — looping down to a point about 1,100 miles (1,800km) south of Hainan Island. Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan claim parts of the same maritime area, and have sparred with China over where the boundaries fall.

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