Philippines, China Recall Protest to Ease Standoff The Philippines and China agreed Friday to set aside their diplomatic protests in order to ease tensions over a naval standoff in the disputed South China Sea, the top Filipino diplomat said. China also pulled back one of three surveillance ships at the Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines, Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario told reporters. But the impasse remained with two other Chinese ships facing off a Philippine coast guard vessel. Del Rosario said that China's ambassador presented her own proposal to end the standoff, which began early this week when Chinese ships prevented the Philippine navy from detaining Chinese fishermen who were allegedly caught poaching. Both sides claim the uninhabited, horseshoe-shaped shoal, which lies about 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Zambales province, the nearest Philippine coast. The 4-day-old standoff has reignited concern for potential conflict in the South China Sea, one of the world's busiest lanes that is also home to a myriad of competing territorial claims, most notably the Spratly Islands south of the shoal. The disputes have settled into an uneasy standoff since the last major clash, which involved China and Vietnam and killed more than 70 Vietnamese sailors in 1988. The barren islands, reefs and coral outcrops are claimed by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan. They are rich fishing grounds and are believed to contain oil and gas reserves. Apart from the Philippines, Vietnam has recently figured in territorial spats with China, while the U.S. has angered Beijing when it declared it was in its national interest to ensure the area remained stable. "I think that we were able to succeed in moving forward by a few steps but there are other matters that remain outstanding," Del Rosario said, adding that the talks in Manila would continue. We both want this resolved as soon as possible. We've agreed that both sides will not do anything to escalate the situation there any further," he said.