Vietnamese citizens slam H&M after it rectifies 'problematic map' kowtowing to China

Swedish fashion retailer H&M has been under fire from two nations over disputed territories in the South China Sea. Social media users in Vietnam lashed out at H&M and accused the fashion retailer brand of kneeling down to Beijing after the company agreed to change the map online to show disputed territories in the South China Sea as part of China.

The criticism of H&M comes after the fashion retailer reportedly rectified its online map after Chinese authorities asked H&M to change a map on its website. On April 2, Chinese regulators said H&M has agreed to change a "problematic map" online following government criticism, adding to pressure on the Swedish retailer amid a conflict with Western governments over China's policies in its Xinjiang region. On Friday, the Shanghai branch of the Cyberspace Administration of China said it had been alerted by members of the public to a "problematic map of China" on H&M's website.

Although the Chinese authorities did not specify what was wrong with the illustration, on Weibo—China's Twitter-like platform - a graphic from an earlier People's Daily report showing the so-called nine-dash line— the mark Beijing uses to claim about 90 percent of the disputed waters of the South China Sea - was widely shared, South China Morning Post reported.

The Shanghai municipal bureau of planning and natural resources ordered the "error" to be remedied immediately and H&M complied, according to the cyberspace watchdog. However, this did not go down well with the people of Vietnam and they accused H&M of kowtowing to Beijing. 

"Paracel and Spratly Islands belong to Vietnam," Huong L. Tran wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

Another used the local names for the Paracel and Spratly island chains in the South China Sea that are claimed by both Beijing and Hanoi. 

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and has overlapping territorial claims with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Taiwan. Beijing's rising assertiveness against counter claimants in the East and South Sea has resulted in unprecedented agreement across the Indo-Pacific.

Swedish multinational H&M, the world's second-largest clothing retailer, has been pulled from major e-commerce stores in China and blocked by several major navigation, review, and rating apps.

Recently, several companies including H&M said they were concerned about allegations that forced labour has been used to produce cotton in Xinjiang. Following this, Chinese media has called for Chinese boycotts of Swedish multinational retailer H&M, sports apparel powerhouses Nike and Adidas; New Balance; Burberry and other members of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) that have voiced concerns or pledged not to use supply chain components produced in Xinjiang, South

Non-Chinese companies like H&M and Nike are facing tremendous pressure following their statement on forced labour in Xinjiang. They are also been subjected to pressure amid China's rising tension with the west. 

(Image Credits: Unsplash/ANI/Representative Image)

(With Inputs: ANI)