India Joins US-Led 'Pax Silica' Alliance to Counter China
India has reportedly joined the US-led "Pax Silica" alliance, a strategic initiative to bolster semiconductor, AI, and rare earth mineral supply chains. The move is aimed at reducing global dependency on China for critical technology components. This geopolitical shift could influence future manufacturing and sourcing decisions for multinational tech companies.
- The "Pax Silica" initiative was formally launched in December 2025, coordinated by the U.S. Department of State, with founding members signing a non-binding declaration to create "trusted" supply chains for semiconductors, AI infrastructure, critical minerals, and advanced manufacturing. - India joins a global coalition that includes Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Israel, Australia, Singapore, the Netherlands, the UAE, and Qatar, uniting many of the world's most advanced technology-hosting nations. - The alliance is financially backed by the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which created a $500 million International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund specifically to build secure semiconductor supply chains with international partners. - This partnership complements India's domestic ₹76,000 crore (approx. $10 billion) India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), which aims to establish a comprehensive local ecosystem from chip design to manufacturing and packaging. - In parallel, India's Rs 10,300 crore "IndiaAI Mission" is focused on creating a sovereign AI ecosystem, including building indigenous large language models and a scalable AI computing infrastructure to reduce reliance on foreign technology. - A key driver for the alliance is countering China's dominance in rare earth minerals, where it controls approximately 91% of global refining. India holds the world's third-largest reserves but contributes less than 1% of production, a gap this partnership aims to address. - India's formal entry was signed at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on February 20, 2026, by officials including India's IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs. - The agreement signals a strategic reset in U.S.-India relations, moving past recent friction over issues like India's purchase of Russian oil to align on long-term technology and security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
