President Duterte has appealed to warring major powers to dial down the hate and avoid escalating the tensions into a nuclear war.
In his virtual address at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the President made a pitch for peace and stability amid concerns about the intensifying tensions among countries with interests in the South China Sea and the global flashpoints.
"When elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled flat," Duterte said in his pre-recorded message aired at the assembly early Wednesday.
"I therefore call on the stakeholders in the South China Sea, the Korean Peninsula, the Middle East and Africa: if we cannot be friends as yet, then in God’s name, let us not hate each other too much. I heard it once said, and I say it to myself in complete agreement," he said.
Duterte lamented that geopolitical tensions have continued to rise just as the world needed stability and confidence in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
He insisted that escalating tensions will not benefit anyone. "New flashpoints heighten fears and tend to tear peoples apart," he said.
Duterte also warned about the possible death and destruction if the tension among contending parties worsens.
"Given the size and military might of the contenders, we can only imagine and be aghast at the terrible toll on human life and property that shall be inflicted if the 'word war' deteriorates into a real war of nuclear weapons and missiles," he said.
Relations between the United States and China have deteriorated in recent months amid conflict over trade issues as well as the origin of the coronavirus illness. Tensions have also escalated as the two superpowers flexed their military muscles over the disputed South China Sea.
In a virtual regional summit in June, the President said the rivalry between the United States and China has escalated but Southeast Asian nations must continue to engage with these two world powers "in ways that benefit us."
The regional group has been caught in the crossfire of the struggle between the United States and China for economic and security influence in recent years.