MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said China “will be fair,” as he floated anew the possibility of holding a joint development with China in the disputed South China Sea.

Since assuming the presidency, Duterte has looked to China for funding of the government’s infrastructure projects, shunning Manila’s ties with its traditional ally, the United States.

Duterte has set aside Manila’s bitter dispute with Beijing over the South China Sea in pursuit of improved economic ties.

In a speech Tuesday, Duterte again floated the idea of holding joint exploration and development with China in the disputed portions of the Philippines, even as critics warn that Manila will be at the losing end of such a setup.

“I am sure at the end China will be fair and the equity will be distributed,” Duterte said in a speech during the groundbreaking of two China-funded bridges in Manila.

He added, in all of his discussions with Chinese officials, “China never asked for [anyting], even one square of real estate in this country.”

Duterte said there are certain details of the Philippines-China discussions on the disputed sea that he cannot yet divulge, “but in the days to come, we would realize that China, after all, is really a good neighbor.”

On Monday, a Chinese research vessel docked in Davao City, the fourth vessel from China to visit the Philippines since Duterte came into power.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Chinese vessel, named Yuan Wang 3, docked at the President's hometown on the request of Chinese ambassador Zhao Jianhua.

• Chinese research ship docks in Davao City

In July 2016, a UN-backed arbitration tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines and said that China's vast sea claims had no legal basis.

Duterte's predecessor, former President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, initiated the case against China but the ruling was handed down less than a month after the incumbent assumed power.

Duterte has refused to flaunt the arbitration ruling and instead sought closer economic and diplomatic ties with China.