Dueterte was elected by a large majority several months ago. While some people may not like his killings he has the support of most Filipinos He wants to make a deal with Chin regardless of the USA, Philippines is in the region unlike the US. Australia is moving to a similar positon, peaceful deal with China.
China does not want peace. It wants control, and the US, nor Australia, will give them that. This is an old article, yet it seems we are ignoring the warning given just as we have done in similar cases in the past:
http://thediplomat.com/2011/07/why-china-wants-the-south-china-sea/
"This strategy dates back almost two decades, to a time when China began encircling the South China Sea to fill the power vacuum created by the withdrawal of US forces from the Philippines in 1991. China reasserted ‘historical’ claims over all the islets, including the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos, and 80 percent of the 3.5 million km2 body of water along the nine-dotted U-shaped line, despite having no international legal ground to do so. Those islets can be used as air and sea bases for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance activities, and as base points for claiming the deeper part of the South China Sea for PLAN ballistic missile submarines and other vessels. China also interprets the
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in an arbitrary manner and doesn’t accept military activities by foreign vessels and overflight in its waters.
Yet China's efforts to dominate the South China Sea face significant challenges. Chinese assertiveness hasn’t only inflamed hostilities from other claimants, but has also raised concerns from seafaring nations such as the United States, Japan, Australia, and India. After all, the South China Sea is a recognized international waterway, unlike the Sea of Okhotsk. In addition, since the JL-2 missiles can’t reach Los Angeles from the South China Sea, Type 094 submarines need to enter the Philippine Sea, where the US Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force conduct intense anti-submarine warfare operations."
We plotted a coup to remove the Shaw of Iran who supported the US, and set in place the Ayatollah who supported Russia. And we know how well that worked.
Anyway, you could read this:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-13748349