The Philippines has joined a U.S.-led coalition aimed at securing supply chains for semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI), marking its latest step to align more closely with Washington on technology and economic security as global competition intensifies.
Department of Trade undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo, also the vice chairperson of the Board of Investments, signed the declaration formalizing Manila’s participation in the Pax Silica initiative on April 17.
The partnership brings together a 14-member coalition seeking to reduce vulnerabilities in advanced chip production and AI infrastructure—sectors increasingly viewed by policymakers as critical to economic security.
In a statement, the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines said the country will host a planned 4,000-acre industrial zone within the Luzon Economic Corridor. The project is envisioned as the first “AI-native industrial acceleration hub” under Pax Silica, designed to support next-generation manufacturing ecosystems tied to allied nations.
The proposed site will function as a staging ground for a purpose-built industrial platform, where investments and production lines can be aligned with market demand. U.S. officials described the initiative as a way to integrate supply chains among partner countries while accelerating capital deployment into critical technologies, including advanced semiconductors and AI-related hardware.
“Situated within the Luzon Economic Corridor, the zone can leverage the Philippines’ geographic centrality in the Indo-Pacific, its young and technically skilled workforce, and its deepening alliance with the United States,” the U.S. Department of State said.
The Philippines has long been embedded in the global semiconductor supply chain, accounting for about 10% of outsourced assembly, testing, and packaging services, according to industry estimates. The sector, a cornerstone of the country’s exports, has traditionally focused on back-end manufacturing for global chipmakers. Policymakers have been seeking to expand into higher-value segments such as design and advanced fabrication, amid intensifying regional competition for semiconductor investment.
The Luzon Economic Corridor—linking key ports, logistics hubs, and industrial zones—is among the flagship initiatives under the government’s infrastructure program. Officials have positioned it as a platform to attract foreign direct investment and strengthen the country’s role in regional manufacturing networks.
Pax Silica reflects Washington’s broader strategy to build resilient technology networks with allies, complementing domestic measures such as the CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) and Science Act, which earmarks more than $50 billion to boost semiconductor production and research in the U.S. By coordinating investments and standards, the initiative seeks to mitigate supply chain disruptions and reduce exposure to geopolitical risks.
American officials have described the coalition as a “positive-sum partnership of nations,” part of broader efforts to strengthen coordination on critical technologies. The planned Philippine zone is expected to provide what the U.S. Embassy called “host-country comparative advantages” for participating economies.
The Philippines joins a group of economies that includes Australia, Finland, India, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, Qatar, South Korea, Singapore, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States. Additional signatories are expected as the framework expands.
For Manila, participation underscores a strategy to translate closer integration with allied supply chains into jobs, technology transfer, and long-term investment, as global demand for chips and AI infrastructure continues to surge, driven by data centers, automation, and next-generation computing systems.
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