A five-month standoff between Manila and Beijing over a disputed maritime feature in the South China Sea has entered a new phase after the Philippine Coast Guard flagship has withdrawn, according to ship spotters.

The Philippines is sending a new vessel to replace the coast guard ship Teresa Magbanua at Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea after the original ship returned to port.

Manila says new vessel will ‘immediately take over’ after BRP Teresa Magbanua left disputed area in South China Sea.

The challenge for the various parties is to insulate the China-Philippines tussle from broader regional and global tensions.

The Philippines says it's withdrawn one of its key patrol vessels from waters around the disputed Sabina Shoal, where tensions have risen with China.

The Philippines will continuously deploy vessels in the contested Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea, its coast guard said on Monday after a Philippine ship returned to port after a five-month deployment there.

The Philippines insisted on Monday that it had not given up a South China Sea reef, two days after it pulled out a ship stationed there following a months-long standoff with rival claimant China.But Tarriela on Monday maintained the withdrawal from Sabina was "not a defeat",

Beijing says Manila’s actions in disputed waters ‘have seriously infringed on China’s territorial sovereignty’