Taipei, Sept. 21 (CNA) Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5 is not yet available in China, but it has drawn criticism there after Chinese news media reported Friday that Apple Maps downloaded from iPhone 5s sold in Japan identified the disputed Diaoyutai Islands as part of Okinawa Prefecture.

A Tokyo-datelined report on the People's Daily website said iPhone 5 users in Japan can get the location of the disputed island chain in the East China Sea if they key in either the Diaoyu Islands -- as the island chain is known in China -- or the Senkaku Islands -- as the group is known in Japan.

But users will get information about the island chain's address as being in Ishigaki City in Okinawa Prefecture only when they key in "Senkaku Islands."

If they key in the word "Diaoyu Islands," they will not get any information other than its longitude and latitude, the report said.

Based on other reports, iPhone 5 users in Asia will in fact see two identical but separate sets of the Diaoyutais side-by-side on the map provided.

One is labeled the Diaoyutais at 25 degrees 45 minutes north latitude and 123 degrees 32 minutes east longitude, and the other is called the Senkakus at 25 degrees 44 minutes north latitude and 123 degrees 28 minutes east longitude.

Some users joked that it was Apple's effort to provide a diplomatic solution to the dispute between Japan and China over the island chain. The island chain has been under Japan's administration since 1972, but it is also claimed by Taiwan and China.

(By Su Yen-feng and Sofia Wu)
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