Pax Silica Initiative

Context

• The United States has indicated that India will be invited to join the US-led Pax Silica initiative next month.
• This initiative is a step toward strengthening India-US strategic and trade relations and providing them long-term stability.
• In essence, Pax Silica aims to ensure secure and reliable supply chains related to silicon, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence in an era of increasing geopolitical and technological competition.

About the Pax Silica Initiative

• What it is: A U.S.-led economic, security, and technology partnership
• Objective: Develop secure, resilient, and innovation-focused global supply chains in the areas of silicon, semiconductors, AI, critical minerals, and advanced manufacturing
• Operation: The United States through the U.S. Department of State
• Summit: The first summit will be held in December 2025
• Partner countries: Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia
• Guest partners: Taiwan, the European Union, Canada, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Key features

• Focus on the entire technology supply chain: Prevent potential disruptions by ensuring security at every stage, from raw resources to advanced AI chips and data infrastructure
• Trusted technology ecosystem: Collaborate only with trusted partner countries to mitigate risks such as data theft, sabotage, and espionage
• Long-term supply and capacity expansion: Encourage stable investment and the establishment of new fabs and processing facilities Emphasis
• Anti-dumping and anti-coercion coordination: Preventing disruptions to the supply of critical technologies through unfair supply chains or political pressure in the market.
• Convergence of economic and national security: Control over chips and AI is a cornerstone of strategic power in today's global order.

Significance

• US-led AI-chip alliance: Formation of an influential technology group that influences a large portion of the advanced global semiconductor ecosystem.
• Reducing strategic dependencies: Reducing reliance on unstable suppliers reduces risks, especially in critical electronics and defense technologies.
• Opportunities for India: India will gain better access to high-end chips, international investment, and AI supply chains, which could boost its digital and defense capabilities.