A Chinese coast guard vessel maneuvers beside the Philippine coast guard ship BRP Cabra as they approach Second Thomas Shoal ... with its smaller neighbors and drawing in the United States ...

But they also expect China to play the long game, to wear out Manila as Beijing seeks to avoid a wider regional conflict that might draw in the US, a Philippine treaty ally.

China and the Philippines will remain at loggerheads over the disputed South China Sea as both sides double down on their positions in the strategically important waterway, observers have said.