Manila: Netflix has removed two episodes of spy drama Pine Gap from its streaming service in the Philippines, after the south-east Asian country rejected scenes involving a map used by China to assert its claims to the South China Sea.

The Philippines on Monday, local time, asked Netflix to remove certain episodes of the six-part Australian series, saying the map depicted on the show was a violation of its sovereignty.

The second and third episodes of the show were no longer available in the Philippines by late Monday, with Netflix announcing on its platform that those episodes had been “removed by government demand”. It did not elaborate.

Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China lays claim to most of the South China Sea waters within the so-called nine-dash line, a U-shaped feature used on Chinese maps. Parts of the resource-rich waters are also contested by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

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After a thorough review, the Philippines’ movie classification board has ruled that certain episodes of Pine Gap were “unfit for public exhibition”, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.

Earlier this year Netflix removed Pine Gap from its services in Vietnam following a similar complaint from the country’s broadcast authorities.

The Philippine films board, acting on the DFA’s complaint, handed down its ruling on September 28. It was not clear why the decision was only made public now.