(CNN)Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said he has been offered a controlling stake in a joint energy deal by Chinese President Xi Jinping in exchange for ignoring an international arbitration in Manila’s favor on the South China Sea.
In 2016, a tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines in a maritime dispute, concluding China has no legal basis to claim historic rights to the bulk of the South China Sea.
Speaking to reporters in the Philippines on Tuesday, Duterte said that Xi had promised him a majority stake in a joint oil and gas exploration venture that could fall within Manila’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), if the Philippines ignores the decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, according to CNN affiliate CNN Philippines.
