The image of the Vietnamese national flag on the roof of a hall on Big Truong Sa Island was shown in the Google Maps app. (Screen shot Photo)

When searching for “Truong Sa Lon” in satellite image mode on the app on smartphones and on the website, users can easily see the image of a flag with a yellow star in the middle of a red background on the roof of the island's hall.

Earlier, Vietnamese Internet users reported last Monday that the Vietnamese flag made from ceramic pieces on the roof of the hall of Truong Sa Lon island had disappeared on Google Maps and Google Earth, raising a question whether Google deliberately deleted the image of the Vietnamese national flag at the location.

After that, the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information under the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) worked with Google representatives to clarify whether it deleted or blurred the national flag of Vietnam in Truong Sa (Spratly) on its two apps.
According to Le Quang Tu Do, head of the authority, Google confirmed that it did not blur or change the satellite images supplied by a third party, explaining that the problem was perhaps due to low image quality.

Google pledged to take necessary steps to replace the image with another of better quality, he said.