“‘There is no doubt that Pax Silica is really meant for the US war effort’”

THE United States continues to pursue the 1992 Wolfowitz Doctrine of “unipolarity, unilateralism, and preventive military action to maintain global hegemony” – expanding the West Asia conflict to Asia in expanding its Iran blockade to the Indo-Pacific.

It has exposed its real strategic intention – blockade of oil and trade on Asia and China.

Observers can see the continuing Asia proxy war Washington is pursuing in its Asian client states Japan and the Philippines.

The build-up in the Philippines is particularly alarming, with nine acknowledged US military bases and Typhon missile launcher but also with 10 dual-use assets – piers, ports, radar sites, ammo and oil depots, transport corridors.

The US has also revealed a plan to sequester 2,000 hectares of Philippine territory in the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) like the New Clark City in Tarlac, convert this into “the Pax Silica industrial hub, designated as an ‘AI-native investment acceleration hub’ for semiconductors and clean energy supply chains.”

This is a “security zone designed to be extraterritorial in nature, operate under US common law, with personnel receiving immunity similar to that of US Embassy staff.”

An industrial hub that requires extraterritoriality. i.e. “legal exemption of foreign states, international organizations, their representatives, or specific assets from the local laws and jurisdiction of a host country… operates as a legal fiction, protecting diplomats, embassies, warships, and sometimes corporations from local judicial processes or police interference.”

It looks more like the 9-km sq. security “Green Zone” of the US in Iraq in the aftermath of the Iraq War than any industrial zone for economic enterprise.

Looking at the suspicious conditions the Americans are imposing for the proposed project, we get cynical.

The demand for extraterritoriality and immunity from Philippine laws for its personnel in the zone means they intend to do things not legal under Philippine laws.

We have had violations of Philippine laws in the US military bases in the Philippines in the past half century, including rapes and murders. We can think of worse violations, like storage of nukes!

Pax Silica briefers enumerate project objectives as infrastructure, establishment of an industrial hub within the LEC, complementation of defense ties focusing on economic security in the AI and semiconductor sectors, and an initiative of the US State Department to reduce “coercive dependencies” in critical technology supply chains.

In 2023 the US pressured the Philippine government to cancel many infra projects funded by China like the Subic-Clark rail that formed part of the LEC.

(Editor’s Note: The Philippines formally withdrew from loan negotiations with China for the Subic-Clark Railway and other major projects in 2023, primarily citing Beijing’s failure to provide funding and inordinate delays.)

There will be many obstacles to the realization of this Pax Silica: the Constitutional and legal ones. I have referred the questions to our legal counsel but while waiting for the competent legal professionals’ studied opinion I have some observations: the grant of extraterritoriality to another country can only be done through a treaty or international agreement ratified by the Senate, and the Pax Silica project cannot be made to fit into the Mutual Defense Treaty or EDCA

(Editor’s Note EDCA is the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, a 2014 Philippine-US military agreement allowing rotational access for US forces to designated Armed Forces of the Philippines bases, and enhances maritime security, disaster response and AFP modernization through infrastructure improvements at nine agreed-upon locations.)

Another consideration is ASEAN which is “actively developing a regional approach to Artificial Intelligence focused on fostering innovation, interoperability, and ethical governance while bridging development gaps among member states” to enhance ASEAN Centrality, which include agreements such as: ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics (2024); ASEAN Responsible AI Roadmap (2025–2030); Declaration on the Establishment of an ASEAN AI Safety Network (ASEAN AI SAFE); Expanded ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics – Generative AI.

The peasant-farmer movement Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas opposes this: “The proposed hub is designed to ‘shore up supply chains’ for minerals and electronics … function as an export-oriented enclave, prioritizing foreign firms’ access to land, water, and energy resources… There is no doubt that Pax Silica is really meant for the US war effort. It lays the foundation through critical minerals and then pushes production to meet the needs of the US in its warfare.”

Dan Steinbock, a strategist of the multipolar world, has described the Pax Silica as making the Philippines into a frontline state in the US “Forever Wars.”

“The Philippines is no longer struggling with just huge corruption scandals and economic pressures. Pax Silica could turn it into a frontline state — like Taiwan. with the US-led Pax Silica framework, the Philippines is becoming a dual-use platform where military strategy and supply-chain restructuring are converging.”

For me, it’s Pax Cynical.

   

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