MANILA - In political rallies, Senate hearings and voter surveys ahead of Monday's midterm elections in the Philippines, China has been an overwhelming - and unusual - presence.

The shadow of its giant maritime neighbour has loomed over the Philippines for years, but as the country's two most prominent political clans flex their muscles in the usually low-key process to pick senators and local government leaders, relations with China have emerged as a political lightning rod.

The outcome could end up shaping the country's strategic positioning over the remaining half of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's six-year term, which began in 2022.

"Will we allow ourselves to return to the time when our leaders wanted us to become a province of China?" Marcos asked voters at a rally in February, in a dig at predecessor Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter Sara, who is currently vice president and a key Marcos rival.

During his 2016 to 2022 term, Duterte shifted foreign policy on China, adopting conciliatory rhetoric and downplaying disputes in the South China Sea. The strategy drew concern from Washington and raised questions about the Philippines' longstanding security alliance with the United States.

In contrast, Marcos has moved to rekindle and deepen ties with Washington.

"These are hot button issues that many Filipino voters can relate to, particularly on the issue on China. There was a time in the past when foreign policy did not really matter that much during elections," said Ederson Tapia, professor of public administration at the University of Makati.

"But now it does."

An April survey found that a majority of voters in the country of 110 million prefer candidates who assert Philippine sovereignty in the South China Sea, where the Marcos-led administration has taken a more assertive stance in its maritime confrontations with Beijing, which continue unabated.

It is a sentiment that Marcos has tapped into since he started his campaign for the slate of Senate candidates that he is backing.

In the February rally, Marcos pointed to his candidates, saying: "None of them were applauding China when our coast guard was being bombed with water, when our fishermen were being blocked, when their catch was stolen, and our islands seized to become part of another country."

China's embassy in Manila did not respond to questions from Reuters.

The Duterte camp enjoyed a surge of sympathy when he was arrested by the International Criminal Court in March and taken to The Hague, but Marcos' candidates remai...