<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/574ea5425124c97b5daa7ce1-728/philippines-duterte-denounced-for-defending-killing-of-some-journalists.jpg" alt="Philippine presidential candidate and Davao city mayor Rodrigo 'Digong' Duterte gestures during a " data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="Philippine presidential candidate and Davao city mayor Rodrigo 'Digong' Duterte gestures during a &amp;quotMiting de Avance&quot; before the national elections at Rizal park in metro Manila" />Thomson ReutersPhilippine presidential candidate and Davao city mayor Rodrigo 'Digong' Duterte gestures during a "Miting de Avance" before the national elections at Rizal park in metro Manila</div></div></div>Next week Rodrigo Duterte will be sworn is as the 16th president of the Philippines, and the whole world will get a lot more dangerous.That's because he will now have a hand in what is arguably the most dangerous dispute in the world - the fight for who controls the waters in the South China Sea.The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/map-of-china-in-the-south-china-sea-2016-6" target="_blank">Chinese claim the lion's share</a> of the region. Duterte disagrees. And generally when he disagrees with something, there is violence.That said, Duterte's rhetoric on this matter has been as erratic as it has been bombastic (you can apply that to much of his policy dictums). At one point on the campaign trail he said that he would ride a jet ski to the disputed Spratly Islands and plant the Philippine flag there. At other times, though, he has said that if the Chinese leave his waters alone, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-philippines-duterte-idUSKCN0Y01I1">he can work with that</a>."He could start a war with China. He's very inconsistent in what he says," one Manila resident, Joyce Asilo, told the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/world/asia/philippine-presidential-race-devolves-into-sideshows-amid-serious-issues.html?_r=0">New York Times</a> last month.So this is going to be a wild one people.<h2>A little bit about this guy</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/576c0d3991058425008cb153-1980/rtx2bxhc.jpg" alt="duterte" data-mce-source="Erik De Castro/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Presidential candidate Rodrigo &amp;quotDigong&quot; Duterte holds a national flag during election campaigning for May 2016 national elections in Malabon, Metro Manila in the Philippines April 27, 2016." />Erik De Castro/ReutersPresidential candidate Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte holds a national flag during election campaigning for May 2016 national elections in Malabon, Metro Manila in the Philippines April 27, 2016.</div></div></div>Duterte was the Mayor of the Philippine city of Davao City for six terms. In that time he came to be known for his bombastic, off the cuff, sometimes violent rhetoric. As a candidate, he often used that rhetoric to frame how he would rid the Philippines of violence, drugs, gangs, and corruption - that's what won him the presidency.That has led a lot of Western media to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/philippines-presidential-election-rodrigo-duterte-2016-5" target="_blank">compare him to US Republican Presidential candidate, Donald Trump</a>. Trump, for example, has an obvious distaste for the media. Duterte shares that, and happens to be in a country with one of the highest murder rates for journalists in the world."Just because you're a journalist you are not exempted from assassination, if you're a son of a b---h," he said at a <a href="http://time.com/4353279/duterte-philippines-journalists-assassination/">press conference</a> earlier this month.When it comes to the South China Sea lately, Duterte has exhibited another Trump-like quality. He says that he's ready to talk to China if the US - the main ally to smaller countries countering China's dominance in the region including Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan - does not support his country the way he thinks it should. From now on, all negotiations will consider the Philippines first."We have this pact with the West, but I want everybody to know that we will be charting a course of our own," he said <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-politics-idUSKCN0YM1EZ">according to a Reuters report.</a> "It will not be dependent on America. And it will be a line that is not intended to please anybody but the Filipino interest."He later <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/2be83a9aba5e4220b160f9bdd2166231/duterte-asks-us-sea-feud-china-are-you-us">point blank asked</a> US Ambassador to the Philippines, Philip Goldberg: "Are you with us?"<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-the-south-china-sea-is-so-crucial-2015-2" target="_blank"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56c630fa2e5265b6008b8153-840/south china seas.jpg" alt="south china seas" data-mce-source="Reuters" /></a>Reuters</div></div></div>Goldberg said that the US would only back the Phillipines in the event of a Chinese attack.That doesn't seem to be the response Duterte was looking for, as he later said that he would send a representative to China to talk."Can you [the US] match the offer? Because if you cannot match the offer, I will accept the goodwill of China," he <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/2be83a9aba5e4220b160f9bdd2166231/duterte-asks-us-sea-feud-china-are-you-us">said according to Reuters</a>.That said, China isn't in the mood for "offers" right now.Duterte's ascension to power is happening at a delicate time in the relationship between the two countries.The outgoing President of the Philippines filed an arbitration under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) over China's actions in the waters. Duterte said he would wait to see what the UN says before he decides what to do, but either way China is upset about that to say the very least.From Chinese state media outlet, <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-06/23/c_135460639.htm">Xinhua:</a>The three "NOs" are: the Philippine action has no basis on <keyword id="6356001" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">international</keyword> law, the international arbitration tribunal has no jurisdiction over the case, and the tribunal has no legitimacy, explained Zhou Jian, a representative for boundary and ocean affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.China's stance on the South China Sea issue has won many countries' support. However, some nations for their own interests called China "despising international law" or "fearing to lose."In response to such slander, Zhou said it is the Philippines that initiated the arbitration against international law.Yes, people. Slander. Again, this should indicate that China is not in a negotiating mood. <h2>A little about this water (and why everyone wants it)</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/566afae072f2c15b028b4f1b-2048/23058573399_3417fcc846_k.jpg" alt="navy ships" data-mce-source="US Navy" data-link="https://www.flickr.com/photos/usnavy/23058573399/" /><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/usnavy/23058573399/">US Navy</a>South China Sea y'all.</div></div></div>The South China Sea will undoubtedly be the battleground of the future.The aforementioned territorial claims from Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Taiwan, and China make the South China Sea one of the most disputed places on the planet.What's more, this contested region is home to $5 trillion in annual global trade, so the <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/10/02/in-south-china-sea-a-tougher-u-s-stance/?utm_content=buffer4ee5d&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer">tit for tat over crumbs of land in these waters</a> isn't for nothing.These waters have proven oil reserves of seven billion barrels, and an estimated 900 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-the-south-china-sea-is-so-crucial-2015-2" target="_blank">according to</a> author and the chief geopolitical analyst for Stratfor, <a href="http://www.robertdkaplan.com/" target="_blank">Robert D. Kaplan</a>. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/575846c552bcd05c658c7939-1990/skitched 9 dash.jpg" alt="9 Dash Line South China Sea Skitched" data-mce-source="CSIS/David Choi/Business Insider" data-mce-caption="A map that depicts China's claim of ownership in the South China Sea." data-link="http://amti.csis.org/atlas/" /><a href="http://amti.csis.org/atlas/">CSIS/David Choi/Business Insider</a>A map that depicts China's claim of ownership in the South China Sea.</div></div></div>And if Chinese calculations are correct, then the South China Sea will ultimately yield 130 billion barrels of oil, which is only second to Saudi Arabia, making the South China Sea "the second Persian Gulf."China, by far, has helped itself to the largest slice of cake in the South China Sea, staking out it's claim with its <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/map-of-china-in-the-south-china-sea-2016-6" target="_blank">Nine Dash Line</a>.All the while, Chinese President Xi Jinping has steadily consolidated the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-worlds-largest-military-just-threw-a-massive-parade-to-celebrate-the-end-of-world-war-ii-2015-9" target="_blank">world's largest military</a> coupled with roughly $356 billion military spending power.In short, China is currently dominating the maritime heart of Southeast Asia.Enter stage left, the Philippines.The Philippines is formally arguing China's Nine-Dash Line, and an international-court ruling is expected in coming weeks.And while the consensus among experts is that the Hague's ruling will go largely against Beijing, the South China Sea remains in a dangerous limbo. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-us-navy-just-flexed-its-muscles-in-the-worlds-most-contested-region-2016-6">The US Navy just flexed its muscles in the world's most contested region</a></h3> <div> <div> <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="pjZ21hNDE68K5rW-eqJMqAdR3UKOkBx3" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> <script> if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; } RunFunctions.push(function() { var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'pjZ21hNDE68K5rW-eqJMqAdR3UKOkBx3',{ autoplay: 'false' }); }); </script> <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div> </div> <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script> </div>

The most dangerous place in the world is about to get a whole lot scarier

<div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53f7b193ecad04b12335ca4c-1200-924/rtr32i6h-1.jpg?maxX=800" border="0" alt="Poseidon" width="800">ReutersA P-8A Poseidon surveillance plane conducts flyovers above the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group on February 3, 2012 in this handout photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy.</img></div></div>
This week's reported <a href="http://freebeacon.com/national-security/chinese-jet-threatened-u-s-intelligence-aircraft/">near-collision</a> between a Chinese fighter plane and an American surveillance aircraft in the East China Sea proves that China isn't afraid to strictly enforce its maritime border in the South China Sea, even if it has to risk a confrontation with the world's most powerful military in the process.
As reported by the Washington Free Beacon, a Chinese Navy Shenyang J-11B - a domestically-produced version of the Russian Sukohi-27 - passed dangerously close to a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon that was likely in the region to monitor "unprecedented Chinese military exercises held recently and currently underway in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and South China Sea."
The risks of an interception were substantial for China - the fallout of a midair collision between American and Chinese military aircraft inside of China's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or the seizure of the plane and its crew <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/02/world/us-plane-in-china-after-it-collides-with-chinese-jet.html">would be complicated for both sides to deal with</a>, to say the least. 
The American plane was inside of China's offshore exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 miles from shore, and inside of its air-defense identification zone as well. Foreign ships and aircraft transit inside of other countries' EEZs all the time without triggering an attempted interdiction; the U.S., for instance, treats its EEZ as the high seas, where air traffic rules are more lax than are on land.
"China has a pretty restrictive interpretation of international law in its EEZ," Nan Li, an expert in Chinese <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">defense</keyword> policy at the Naval War college, told Business Insider, noting that China is "very sensitive about surveillance aircraft." 
Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at RAND, adds this has been a longstanding area of concern for Beijing. "China is very protective of the areas where our reconnaissance aircraft tend to go into," he told Business Insider. "It would be natural them to come in close and let us know that we're not happy that we're there."
China energetically polices its offshore boundary, it won't necessarily make an exception for American military aircraft.
This map helps explain why.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53f7ade169beddf65735ca4b-801-495/screen%20shot%202014-08-22%20at%204.48.13%20pm.png" border="0" alt="Screen Shot 2014 08 22 at 4.48.13 PM" width="800">Business Insider</img></div></div>
The South China Sea is the site of a slow-motion power struggle, with China claiming territory inside of Vietnam and the Philippines' EEZs. In May, Beijing took the unprecedented measure of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28322355">moving an oil rig</a> inside of internationally-recognized Vietnamese waters.
Disputed oil and gas deposits, regional anxieties about China's rise, and a history of mutual suspicion and hostility between China and its neighbors make the South China Sea one of the more worrying corners of the globe.
The U.S.'s "pivot to Asia" - which includes <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/02/us-philippines-usa-idUSBREA4107020140502">eventual American access</a> to five bases in the Philippines - anticipates the complexities that a newly-ascendant and sometimes aggressive China will create. China's a military and economic giant, but also a self-styled global superpower that's willing to confront both its neighbors and the U.S.
Complicating matters is the fact that different countries have different interpretations of what's allowed inside of each other's EEZs, so the boundaries for acceptable action within South China Sea aren't always clear. For instance, there's no current agreement as to whether foreign military activities are permitted in an EEZ under international law - a difference of interpretation that was the source of a 2009 confrontation between the U.S. and China.
In March of that year, five Chinese vessels <a href="https://www.usnwc.edu/.../China-Maritime-Study-7_...">intercepted</a> an unarmed U.S. Naval surveillance vessel called the USNS Impeccable 75 miles south of the island of Heinan. The Impeccable withdrew under armed escort, and after a public protest from the Pentagon, which believed it had a right to operate within China's EEZ.
This week's incident offers more proof that China is prepared to take a hard line on its regional territorial rights - which are themselves connected to a series of disputes and conflicting claims that will only become more tense as China's ascension continues.
This doesn't mean that China is looking for war with the United States. But it's willing to assert itself in ways that could complicate relations between the two powers, or lead to confrontations that neither anticipates or even wants.
The two country's planes missed each other by 30 feet on August 19th. Next time, they might not be so lucky.

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