In a surprising change of stance, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the country’s navy down to the Spratly islands in the SCS. This area has historically been disputed territory between Asian countries. While the navy will not be challenging Chinese territory, they will be reinforcing and building new infrastructure in Philippine territory. This likely is a response to the appeasement policy that Duterte has had recently and the backlash he has faced. It will be interesting to see how this plays out as tensions rise between the rising power that is China and the small island nation pushing back.