US forges critical minerals coalition with eight allies, leaves India out
NEW DELHI: A new US-led strategic initiative, named Pax Silica, which aims to build a secure, prosperous, and innovation-driven global silicon supply chain, has been launched without the inclusion of India amidst crucial trade negotiations between the two countries. The US State Department defined the initiative as focused on the entire silicon supply chain, from critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and logistics. The inaugural Pax Silica Summit will have Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. The US State Department emphasised the group's critical role, and said, Together, these countries are home to the most important companies and investors powering the global AI supply chain. The objective of Pax Silica is clearly strategic at a time when building alternatives to Chinese-led supply chains on critical minerals and emerging technologies are in focus. The alliance seeks o reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence, and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale. US, Australia sign critical-minerals agreement as way to counter China The initiative, which responds to increasing risks from coercive dependencies and a collective desire to secure all strategic stacks of the technology supply chain-- including software, foundation models, semiconductors, and mineral refining---signals a concerted effort to establish a trusted economic order for the AI era. India's exclusion from this list is interesting, given that critical minerals have recently become a central focus of the bilateral relationship. In fact, the US and India in 2024 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on critical minerals supply chains, an important example of Indias bilateral cooperation in this sector, which aims to leverage he two countries complementary strengths to ensure greater resilience in the critical minerals sector. The MoU, alongside the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), highlights a growing focus on technology and clean energy cooperation. However, the absence from Pax Silica- a body formed specifically around the world's most advanced AI supply chain companies and investors--suggests that while the US and India are collaborating on mineral resilience, New Delhi may not yet be perceived as a core, end-to-end partner in the most advanced segment of the global AI production ecosystem. There was no immediate reaction from Indian side to this development.
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