The Vietnamese national flag can be seen on the roof of a hall on Trường Sa Lớn (Spratly) Island as displayed on Google Maps. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The image of the Vietnamese national flag on the roof of a hall on Trường Sa Lớn (Spratly) Island in Việt Nam's East Sea was shown in the Google Maps app on Tuesday morning.

Accordingly, when searching for “Trường Sa Lớn” 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 on July 10, Vietnamese Internet users reported that the Vietnamese flag made from ceramic pieces on the roof of the hall of Trường Sa Lớn Island disappeared on Google Maps and Google Earth, and raised questions 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 Việt Nam in Trường Sa (Spratly) on its two apps.

According to Lê Quang Tự 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. — VNS