The Philippines has joined Pax Silica, a US-led coalition focused on AI, semiconductors, and supply chain security, as its 13th member. The agreement, signed on April 17, centers on a 4,000-acre “economic security zone” in New Clark City, Tarlac, touted as the alliance’s first AI-native industrial acceleration hub.
Pax Silica aims to diversify global chip and AI infrastructure supply chains away from concentrated hubs like Taiwan, South Korea, and China. The Philippines, with its existing electronics manufacturing sector and strategic Indo-Pacific location, fits Washington’s strategy.
The New Clark City hub will feature infrastructure tailored for AI demands: power capacity, data centers, and logistics corridors. It targets moving the Philippines up the semiconductor value chain from assembly and testing toward design and fabrication.
Domestic reactions are mixed. Proponents see jobs and investment; critics warn of the Philippines becoming a junior partner in a US geopolitical project.
For investors, the hub could attract capital inflows to the electronics sector, though competition from Vietnam and Malaysia remains fierce.