Taiwan asking Apple to blur satellite image in Maps app

Taipei: Taiwan is asking Apple Inc. to blur a map image of its new $1.4 billion early warning radar station that can detect aircraft and missiles coming from as far as western China.

Defense Ministry spokesman David Lo said Tuesday that Apple should follow its rival Google in using only low-resolution satellite pictures to show sensitive facilities. He acknowledged the military should also try to camouflage them.

The 10-story high radar installation built with US technology is expected to go online later this year. It's near the Hsinchu Air Base in northern Taiwan. The satellite picture that can be viewed with iPhones is believed to have been taken a year ago. Local media say the radar installation can monitor targets, determine their speeds and fire missiles to intercept them.