The app uses a map that has the ‘nine-dash line’ representing China’s fraudulent East Sea claims in flagrant violation of Vietnamese sovereignty over its waters.

KyLin JSC, the importer based in northern Vietnam, has been told to immediately remove the app from China-made cars it distributes in the country, said Nguyen To An, head of motor-vehicle quality at Vietnam Register.

"The importer must also work with suppliers to reposition maps before selling the cars in the country," An said.

Because current vehicle registration regulations only require inspection of technical safety and environmental protection standards, and not accessories or optional devices, the map showing the nine-dash-line was able to slip into Vietnam, An told local media.

Two weeks ago, Vietnamese officials had ordered cinemas to halt the screening of "Abominable", a DreamWorks animated movie, after viewers spotted the nine-dash line on a map in the film.

The line is a demarcation that claims 90 percent of the 3.5-million-square-kilometer East Sea, known internationally as South China Sea. The unilateral demarcation has been opposed strongly by the international community. Apart from violating Vietnam’s sovereignty, it overlaps with claims by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan.