MANILA — A political analyst on Tuesday said that the tougher stance of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. against China on the West Philippine Sea might not change Beijing's aggressive maritime behavior in the waterway. 

Marcos on Monday said the Philippines would continue to pursue diplomacy with China in addressing tensions in the South China Sea, where the smaller West Philippine Sea is located. But he vowed to "push back" when Manila's sovereign rights are ignored. 

"In the end, the remarks and relatively stronger stance of President Marcos Jr. — we don't expect that it will entirely change the mind of the Chinese government. After all, China sees the Philippines as such a small state if you notice the behavior," said Aries Arugay, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines.

However, Marcos' statement could gather support from other states "that continue to be seen as simply actors without agency in this great power rivalry," Arugay added.

On Tuesday, a day after Marcos' remarks, the Philippine Coast Guard reported that one of its vessels had been damaged after it was allegedly blocked by Chinese ships during a resupply mission in the West Philippine Sea — the latest in a string of aggressive moves by Beijing against Manila.

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"I think the calculus of the Marcos government is that what else can we do? If we do quiet diplomacy China does the same thing, so we’d rather be transparent about it and at least the world will witness that as small states the weight of China is being used in order to harass our fishermen, our coast guard, and to undermine primarily the national interest of the Philippines," Arugay said.

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