Taiwan Defense Ministry spokesman Chen Chung-chi told reporters on Wednesday that they made a request to Google Earth to blur images of their military facilities in Itu Aba - one of the disputed islands within the South China Sea. This request was made after the images were posted on the local newspaper a day before. These showed a four three-pronged structure, an air strip and a new port.
Taiwan has been uncomfortable with the images being viewed in public. Chen has expressed that sentiment, saying "under the precondition of protecting military secrets and security, we have requested Google to blur images of important military facilities."
These utterances puzzled the people around the world as to what really Chen's intention is for that request. He seems to be hiding from the public said facilities. Yet, whether they would conceal it or not, other states' militaries would certainly find a way to look at it.
"It's hard to see what they're trying to achieve in asking Google to blur it though," James Edward Hoare associate fellow at London's Chatham House, said. He even added, "If you build a military installation on an island that size, someone is going to see it."
As shown clearly, the facilities are obviously for military purposes. "I think definitely it will be for military purposes, but I cannot tell if it is for defending, attacking or monitoring," said Dustin Wang, a scholar and a former government advisor who has regularly visited Itu Aba.
It can be recalled that Taiwan together with China strongly opposed the ruling of United Nations arbitrary courts in July that China has no right over the disputed islands and waterways. The Philippines. Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Brunei, and Vietnam are among those nations who laid claim with these islands.
Theoretically, Taiwan is a United States ally, but the possibility that it would join China is another angle to consider.
