Hinikayat ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte noong Biyernes ang mga makapangyarihang mga bansa na iwasan ang mga pansariling interes habang isinasakripisyo ang kapakanan ng “maliliit na bansa,” at hinimok ang mga bansa na resolbahin ang mga hidwaan nang “mapayapa”.

Habang nagsasalita sa Nikkei Future of Asia Conference, sinabi ng Pangulo na ang geopolitical sa pagitan ng malalaking bansa ay nakapagdadagdag ng kalituhan sa regional security issues. 

Hinimok nito ang makapangyarihang mga bansa sa mundo na iwasan ang “temptation to pursue interests at the expense of smaller countries, in plain defiance of international law.” 

“If Asia is to serve as an engine of global recovery, we all have to act responsibly within a system of norms, commitments, and obligations,” ayon kay Duterte sa kanyang talumpati.

“We have to resolve our disputes peacefully according to international law. We have to work together – not against each other – to achieve common ends,” dagdag pa nito.

Nanawagan din ang Pangulo para sa pagkakaisa ng mga bansa sa laban kontra Covid-19.

Aniya, “We are only as strong as our weakest link as a country and as a region, and as one global community. This is why we need greater solidarity for collective, coordinated, and comprehensive responses. Inward-looking policies will lead us nowhere.”

“The free movement of goods, capital, and services is the “key to recovery and shared prosperity,” dagdag pa ni Duterte.