Title:

 Duterte says Xi offered gas deal if 2016 Hague arbitration win ignored

Author:

Reuters

Source:

Business World

Date:

 September 12, 2019

Description:

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte said his Chinese counterpart has offered Manila a controlling stake in a joint energy venture in the South China Sea, if it sets aside an international arbitral award that went against Beijing. Mr. Duterte said Chinese President Xi Jinping told him during their recent meeting that if he ignored the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s 2016 ruling, China would agree to be the junior partner in a joint venture to develop gas deposits at the Reed Bank, located within Manila’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).