Malaysia orders China map cut from "Abominable" film as furore widens

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Malaysia's film censors
have ordered a scene removed from the animated movie
"Abominable" which shows China's "nine-dash line" in the South
China Sea, an official said on Thursday, amid growing anger
among countries with overlapping claims in the waterway.
The U-shaped line is used on Chinese maps to illustrate its
territorial claims over vast expanses of the resource-rich South
China Sea, including areas claimed by other countries.
Vietnam pulled the movie from cinemas on Monday, while the
Philippines' foreign minister has called for the scene showing
the map to be cut and the film boycotted. Malaysia's Film Censorship Board said on Thursday it has
given the green light for the movie to be screened in cinemas
without the scene depicting the map.
"The animated film titled "Abominable"... has been given
approval for screening in Malaysia under the condition that the
controversial map is removed from the film," the board's
chairman Mohamad Zamberi Abdul Aziz said in an emailed statement
to Reuters.
The film will be released in Malaysian cinemas on Nov. 7.
"Abominable", about a Chinese girl who discovers a yeti
living on her roof, was jointly produced by Shanghai-based Pearl
Studio and Comcast-owned CMCSA.O DreamWorks Animation.
Pearl Studio did not immediately respond to an emailed
request for comment. Dreamworks could not be reached for
comment.
Four Southeast Asian countries - Malaysia, Vietnam, the
Philippines and Brunei - as well as Taiwan contest China's
claims in the South China Sea.
Malaysia had been critical of China's South China Sea
position, but has been less outspoken recently, especially after
China pumped in billions of dollars into infrastructure projects
in the country.
Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said earlier on Thursday
Malaysia needs to boost its naval capabilities to prepare for
possible conflict in the South China Sea even as it pursues
non-militarisation of the waterway.