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Download A navy frigate that ran aground in the waters off China's Nansha Islands was refloated with the help of the navy's rescue force on Sunday, relieving concerns amid rising tensions in the South China Sea. The forward hull of the ship was slightly damaged, but all crew members were safe and the ship will sail back to port, according to a news release on the Ministry of National Defense's website. "It has not caused any contamination in the waters," the statement said. The frigate has been in service for 19 years and is still in its "prime of life", said Li Jie, a navy analyst in Beijing, refuting speculation that the frigate's stranding was planned. The Philippines has dispatched one navy and one coast guard ship to the area to monitor the Chinese operations, according to AFP. Overlapping claims to the islands in the South China Sea have caused tensions in the area. The Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Brunei all claim sovereignty over some islands in the South China Sea. Chinese and Philippine officials are seeking a resolution to the standoff over Huangyan Island, which has lasted for more than three months, according to The Associated Press. The Philippines on Sunday said it would not lodge a diplomatic protest after China extricated the naval frigate, which had been stranded for four days, AFP reported. "We don't believe that there were ill-intentions that accompanied the presence of that ship in our exclusive economic zone," said Foreign Secretary of the Philippines Albert del Rosario. | 
