On April 7, the United States, Japan, Australia and the Philippines launched their first-ever joint naval exercises, including anti-submarine warfare training, in a show of force in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, the U.S.-Japan-Philippines trilateral summit will be held on April 11 in the White House and is set to bolster trilateral maritime cooperation in the South China Sea.

Rommel Banlaoi, president og the Philippine Society for International Security Studies, called for choosing peace, dialogue, and consultation over proxy wars. "South China Sea [issue] can be managed through non-military means," he said, adding that ASEAN must reclaim its central role in managing Asia-Pacific security issues and that the creation of mini-lateral arrangements like AUKUS and QUAD are all undermining ASEAN centrality.