The Philippines pulled its biggest warship away from a standoff with Chinese vessels Thursday, but said the dispute was far from over with both nations deploying more non-military boats to the area.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippines decided to remove the navy's flagship from the tiny set of islands and reefs in the South China Sea while trying to negotiate an end to the five-day impasse. "We are pursuing the diplomatic track in terms of coming to a resolution on the issue," del Rosario told reporters.
The dispute began on Sunday when Philippine authorities found eight Chinese fishing boats at Scarborough Shoal, 124 nautical miles west of the country's main island of Luzon. The Philippines accused the fishermen of being there illegally, asserting the area was Philippine territory because it was within the country's 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, as recognised by international law.
However China claims all of the South China Sea as its own, even waters up to the coasts of other countries, and Chinese authorities insisted the fishermen were allowed to be at the shoal. The Philippine Navy deployed its biggest and newest warship to Scarborough Shoal on Sunday, immediately after the Chinese fishermen were discovered there.
The Philippines had planned to arrest the fishermen, but the two Chinese surveillance vessels appeared on the scene on Tuesday and blocked the warship from approaching the fishing boats. The stand-off escalated into a diplomatic brawl on Wednesday when both governments publicly protested each others' actions, and traded accusations as to whose presence in the area was illegal.
Del Rosario said the Philippines had been hopeful of resolving the issue by Thursday, but that appeared now unlikely. "Yesterday, I was hopeful that we would arrive at a conclusion... I guess that didn't come about," he said.