THE PHILIPPINES wants to join the United States’ Pax Silica program to improve its involvement in the supply chain of key minerals and intelligence infrastructure (AI), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.
“The Philippines is very interested in being part of the Pax Silica initiative of the US,” Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo told reporters on the sidelines of the forum on Friday.
“For us, Pax Silica rests on two pillars – having a safe supply of essential minerals, rare earth elements needed in both the defense and technology industries; and the second piece is in the digital infrastructure of AI.”
The country’s inclusion in the US-led Pax Silica partnership will also allow the Philippines to be a player in the production of digital infrastructure amid the AI boom, said Mr. Rodolfo.
“You will need precious minerals to be able to produce all the necessary machines, parts of your digital infrastructure.”
Pax Silica is a US-led economic partnership that seeks to build a global silicon supply chain across key minerals, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, transportation, and AI infrastructure.
The framework also aims to foster a “shared and trusted ecosystem of AI developers and vendors to revitalize legacy industries and open new markets and services,” according to the US State Department’s website.
Current signatories to the Pax Silica initiative include Australia, Greece, India, Israel, Japan, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, Taiwan acts as a non-signatory party to the treaty.
Mr. Rodolfo added that the country is interested in pursuing a critical mineral deal with Canada.
This is after the Philippines and the US signed a cooperation agreement in February to support local processing of the world’s precious and rare earth minerals – key components of advanced manufacturing.
The Philippines also expects to conclude negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with Canada this year, ahead of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Canada FTA, said Mr. Rodolfo.
“The Philippines-Canada FTA is very important because that can be a framework where Canada can be our entry point to the broader CUSMA (Canada-United States-Mexico,),” he said.
Through a bilateral FTA, the Philippines could also become Canada’s gateway to the broader ASEAN bloc, Mr. Rodolfo.
The Philippines and Canada are scheduled to hold a second round of FTA talks in April.
Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines David Hartman remains “fully committed” to strengthening Philippines-Canada FTA negotiations this year.
He mentioned the importance of the FTA with the Philippines to ensure economic security amid the ongoing tensions in the country.
“In this situation, stability cannot be built on isolation. Economic security increasingly depends on cooperation between trusted partners,” said Mr. Hartman told the forum. – Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
