(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

"Set aside the arbitral ruling," Duterte said, quoting Xi. "Set aside your claim. Then allow everybody connected with the Chinese companies. They want to explore and if there is something, they said, we would be gracious enough to give you 60%, they will only get 40%. That is the promise of Xi Jinping," Duterte reportedly said.

An EEZ gives a country exclusive maritime rights to resources such as fish and oil and gas within 200 nautical miles of that land mass. Manila's EEZ, mandated by the United Nation's Convention on the Law of the Sea, overlaps with waters claimed by China and Vietnam.

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