THE Philippines will be establishing an “economic security zone” under the United States’ Pax Silica initiative, which was launched by Washington in December last year in a bid to bolster technology and critical mineral supplies, and counter a dependence on China.
“Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg today announced the United States’ and the Philippines’ plans to establish a 4,000-acre industrial hub to secure inputs vital to American and global supply chains,” the US State Department said in a fact sheet issued on Thursday.
“The site is located in the Luzon Economic Corridor of the Philippines. The site — the first of its kind — is being designated by the Philippines as an economic security zone, a new model for AI (artificial intelligence)-native investment acceleration hubs being developed under the Pax Silica Initiative,” it added.
Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo signed on behalf of the Philippines, which became the 13th country to join the US’ bid to reduce China’s critical minerals dominance.
The other Pax Silica members are Australia, Finland, India, Israel, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, Singapore, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the US.
The Luzon Economic Corridor is part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, a G7 effort aimed at funding infrastructure projects in developing countries and countering China’s Belt and Road initiative.
The corridor covers Subic Bay, Clark, Manila and Batangas, and the Philippines, the US and Japan in 2024 launched a steering committee to drive infrastructure developments.
The site of the planned economic security zone was not disclosed, but the State Department said it would cover 4,000 acres (1,618 hectares).
Writing on X, Helberg said “this purpose-built platform will secure inputs vital to American supply chains and transform how allies manufacture together,” he said.
The State Department, meanwhile, said the zone “is part of a broader strategy to surge production for inputs vital to US supply chains.”
“It is expected to serve as a purpose-built platform for allied manufacturing — an investment acceleration hub where the specific industrial activities are shaped by market demand, host-country comparative advantages and the evolving needs of the allied network,” it added.
The zone can also “leverage the Philippines’ geographic centrality in the Indo-Pacific, its young and technically skilled workforce, and its deepening alliance with the United States.”
The State Department noted the Philippines’ “significant reserves” of nickel, copper, chromite and cobalt.
It said that the two governments planned to “identify appropriate frameworks” for the zone’s long-term development.
The initiative, it added, will fuse “American expertise in institutions and legal regimes” with access to the Philippines’ workforce, mineral and energy resources and strategic location in Indo-Pacific trade.
“The Luzon hub is intended to be the first zone in a broader industrial network — a constellation of integrated manufacturing sites, logistics corridors and shared financial instruments spanning partner nations across multiple continents,” the State Department also said.
