Miss Global apologizes as Vietnamese audience oppose China’s illegal ‘9-dash line’ in pageant clip
Monday, March 10, 2025, 16:13 GMT+7
The organizers of Miss Global 2025 have issued an apology after Vietnamese audiences called for a boycott over the inclusion of China's illegal 'nine-dash line,' which covers most of the East Vietnam Sea, in one of its videos.
Many Vietnamese viewers strongly protested when they saw the clip displaying the illicit ‘nine-dash line,’ also known as the ‘cow tongue-shaped line,’ during the contest’s final round on Sunday.
China uses this demarcation to blatantly assert sovereignty over approximately 80 percent of the East Vietnam Sea, including parts of Vietnam’s territorial waters and those of several other countries.
Numerous Vietnamese spectators watching the pageant on YouTube expressed their opposition in the comment section, posting remarks such as 'Hoang Sa [Paracel] and Truong Sa [Spratly] belong to Vietnam.'
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| An apology letter from the Miss Global 2025 organizers, posted on the pageant’s Facebook page after China’s illegal ‘nine-dash line’ was shown in a map video clip at the final night in Thailand on March 9, 2025. Photo: Miss Global |
These archipelagoes, under Vietnam’s sovereignty and located in the East Vietnam Sea, are illegally included in the area claimed by China’s unlawful ‘nine-dash line.’
In response to the widespread backlash – where many Vietnamese called on contestant Nguyen Dinh Nhu Van to withdraw from the competition and urged a boycott of the beauty pageant – the Miss Global 2025 organizers promptly issued an apology on the contest’s official Facebook page.
“We sincerely apologize for any offense caused by the graphic material we recently shared. It was never our intention to misrepresent or disregard Vietnam’s sovereignty or the sensitivities surrounding territorial matters,” the statement reads.
The organizers also expressed their deep respect for Vietnam and its people, acknowledging the need for greater caution “when selecting visual materials, especially on topics of historical and national significance."
They assured that stricter measures would be implemented to ensure thorough content review to prevent misunderstandings or unintended messages.
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| Nguyen Dinh Nhu Van, a 34-year-old Vietnamese, won the Miss Global 2025 crown in Thailand on March 9, 2025. Photo: Miss Global Vietnam |
The apology concluded with the organizers expressing appreciation for the constructive feedback from Vietnamese audiences and a commitment to “learning from this experience to do better in the future.”
Despite the controversy and ensuing apology, the pageant's final night proceeded as scheduled, culminating in Van’s coronation.
Van, 34, hails from Lam Dong Province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region.
The titles of first, second, third, and fourth runners-up were awarded to contestants from Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the U.S., and the Philippines, respectively.
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