BarbieHeimer Special Series - Barbie and The Nine Dash Line: Don Rothwell

In this, the first of our Special Series on the BarbieHeimer phenomenon, we speak with international law of the sea expert, Professor Don Rothwell to find out what all the controversy was about in relation to the banning of the Barbie movie in Vietnam; the 9-Dash line; and the importance of maps in international law. 

Professor Donald R Rothwell is one of Australia’s leading experts in International Law with specific focus on the law of the sea; law of the polar regions; use of force and implementation of international law within Australia. He is the author of 28 books and over 200 book chapters and articles including, with Tim Stephens, The International Law of the Sea 3rd ed, (IN PRESS). His most recent work is Islands and International Law (Hart: 2022).

Major career works include The Polar Regions and the Development of International Law (CUP, 1996), and International Law: Cases and Materials with Australian Perspectives 3rd (CUP: 2018).

Rothwell is also Editor-in-Chief of the Brill Research Perspectives in Law of the Sea. From 2012-2018 he was Rapporteur of the International Law Association (ILA) Committee on ‘Baselines under the International Law of the Sea’.  Rothwell was previously Challis Professor of International Law and Director of the Sydney Centre for International and Global Law, University of Sydney (2004-2006), where he had taught since 1988. He has acted as a consultant or been a member of expert groups for UNEP, UNDP, IUCN, the Australian Government, and acted as advisor to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

In 2012 Rothwell was appointed an inaugural ANU Public Policy Fellow, and in 2015 elected as Fellow to the Australian Academy of Law. He is a regular media commentator on international law issues and has written over 100 opinion comments, including for all of the major daily newspapers in Australia and ABC Online ‘The Drum. 

Additional Resources:

• Don Rothwell, What is the ‘nine-dash line’ and what does it have to do with the Barbie movie?, The Conversation, 4 July 2023 (images of the Barbie 8-Dash Line and the real 9-Dash Line are embedded in this story).

• Erik Franckx and Marco Benatar, ‘Dots and Lines in the South China Sea: Insights from the Law of Map Evidence’ (2012) 2 Asian Journal of International Law 89-118.

• Z. Gao and B. Jia, ‘The Nine-Dash Line in the South China Sea: History, Status, and Implications’ (2013) 107 (1) American Journal of International Law 98-123.

• Communications received with regard to the joint submission made by Malaysia and Viet Nam to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf – China (7 May 2009).