The Xisha and Nansha Islands were labeled as Chinese territory, and Vietnamese consumers boycotted Chinese-made mobile phones.

Because the weather application (APP) pre-installed on Chinese-produced smartphones incorrectly labeled the Hoang Sa Islands (Paracel Islands) and Truong Sa Islands (Spratly Islands) in Vietnam as Chinese territory, it triggered strong protests from Vietnamese consumers. Vietnamese 3C product distributors took emergency response measures, including removing Chinese smartphone brands such as Xiaomi and Huawei from their shelves. Weather information companies also modified the APP.

"VnExpress", "Tuoitre" and other media reported that on the afternoon of the 4th of this month, Vietnam's major 3C product distributors removed some products from Chinese smartphone brands such as Huawei, OPPO, Xiaomi, Honor, vivo, Transsion, Nubia, Meizu and other products on display. Some distributors have also instructed their employees not only to remove products for display from the shelves but also to suspend second-hand smartphone sales and trade-in transactions until the problem is resolved.

The controversy stems from errors in the map and location information of AccuWeather, a weather app pre-installed on smartphones. When searching for the Hoang Sa Islands and Truong Sa Islands claimed by Vietnam on this APP, an error occurred when they were marked as Chinese territory.

These two archipelagoes are both located in the South China Sea. China calls the Hoangsha Islands the Paracel Islands and the Changsha Islands the Nansha Islands. For a long time, China and Vietnam have claimed sovereignty over these two archipelagoes, resulting in frequent conflicts. China claims extensive sovereignty over the South China Sea, while Vietnam's position is that both islands are its own territory. For Vietnamese citizens, the sovereignty of these two archipelagoes is not just geographical information, but also a sensitive issue directly related to national sovereignty.

But this error seems to have nothing to do with the map service developed by Chinese mobile phone manufacturers. The problem comes from the data provided by external suppliers. AccuWeather is an American weather information service company that currently provides weather forecast data to many smartphone manufacturers. After receiving the problem report, AccuWeather has worked with its partners to stop the faulty service and start updating the system.

Smartphone manufacturers have also taken emergency response measures. Xiaomi and Honor stated that they have confirmed the error that occurred in external services and have completed technical adjustments and software modifications. Xiaomi said it fully respects and abides by Vietnamese laws and expresses its gratitude to users who responded promptly to issues. Some manufacturers have temporarily shut down controversial services and modified their location search functions.

On the other hand, OPPO claimed that the problem has not been found in the company's products. OPPO explained that the company’s weather APP uses data from The Weather Channel, an American weather information service company, and has nothing to do with this error. Some 3C product distributors have removed products from the shelves purely for precautionary purposes. After confirming that the products have been modified, they will be put back on the shelves and resume display.

This is not the first time that global technology companies have caused controversy in Vietnam due to incorrect territory markings on maps. In December 2022, Apple was criticized for not marking Hoang Sa Islands and Truong Sa Islands on Apple Maps installed on iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, etc. Due to continued protests by Vietnamese users, the Vietnamese Information and Communications Department asked Apple to add the place names and location information of two archipelagos. Apple admitted that there was a technical error and modified the map information as required.

Meta has experienced similar problems. In 2018, in Facebook's advertising production function, Hoang Sa Islands and Truong Sa Islands were marked as Chinese territory. The Vietnamese government protested. Facebook claimed that it was due to the use of incorrect map data and modified the relevant labels. In 2020, Facebook Maps confirmed that it had missed information about these two islands, and finally revised it and apologized.

The Republic of China (Taiwan), Vietnam and China all claim sovereignty over the Hoang Sa Islands (Paracel Islands). In addition, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Vietnam, and China all claim complete sovereignty over the Truong Sa Islands (Spratly Islands), Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei claim sovereignty over some islands, while Indonesia claims a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.