Philippines, US to build industrial hub to strengthen supply chain security

Australia, Finland, India, Qatar, South Korea and Singapore are among countries that have joined the initiative

FILE PHOTO: A containers area is seen in the port of Palermo, Italy Jul 26, 2018. REUTERS/Tony Gentile/File Photo

The United States and the Philippines will build a 4,000-acre (1,620 hectares) industrial hub after Manila joined a Washington-led initiative to secure AI and semiconductor supply chains, the US State Department said in a statement.

The Philippines becomes the 13th country to join Pax Silica, a program seeking to safeguard the full technology supply chain, including critical minerals, advanced manufacturing, computing and data infrastructure.

The initiative is a key pillar of the Trump administration's economic statecraft strategy aimed at reducing its dependence on rival nations and strengthen cooperation among allied partners.

Other signatories include Australia, Finland, India, Qatar, South Korea and Singapore.

The new industrial hub will be built in the Luzon Economic Corridor, a strategic hub for economic activity that includes the capital Manila and neighbouring regions with industrial and manufacturing activities.

The Philippines, Japan and the United States have committed to ramp up infrastructure investments in the corridor under a trilateral framework agreement.

"It is intended to serve as a staging point for a purpose-built platform for allied manufacturing," the State Department said in a statement.

"The two Allies are committed to strengthening shared supply chains in critical minerals, semiconductors, electronics, and other goods," it added.

Relations between Manila and Washington have blossomed under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who has pivoted closer to the United States.

The former US colony is also central to Washington's efforts to counter China's assertiveness in the South China Sea.