{"slug": "the-philippines-sovereignty-and-the-pax-silica-industrial-hub-how-us-helberg-it", "title": "The Philippines, sovereignty and the Pax Silica Industrial Hub – how US’ Helberg sees it", "summary": "US Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg committed to the Philippines on the Pax Silica Initiative, a US-led coalition building China-free AI supply chains, after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. defended the proposed Pax Silica Industrial Hub in his State of the Nation address on Monday. Critics warn the project could erode Philippine sovereignty, displace farming communities, and cause environmental harm.", "body_md": "Advertisement\n\n# ExclusiveThe Philippines, sovereignty and the Pax Silica Industrial Hub – how US’ Helberg sees it\n\nSenior US official tackles suggestions that Manila’s jurisdiction could be eroded by a joint supply chain project\n\n5-MIN READ5-MIN\n\nListen\n\n[Nayan Seth](/author/nayan-seth)in Washington\n\n*The struggle between the US and China over who will lead in*\n\n*artificial intelligence**is one of the defining competitions of our time. In the third part of*\n\n*our exclusive interview*\n\n*with a key player defining Washington’s policy on AI,*\n\n*Jacob Helberg, US undersecretary of state for economic affairs, gives a commitment to the Philippines on the Pax Silica Initiative.*\n\nPhilippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr used his\n\n[State of the Nation address](https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3361825/marcos-faces-nation-sona-corruption-crackdown-hits-philippine-growth?module=inline&pgtype=article)in Manila on Monday to staunchly defend a proposed US-backed artificial intelligence hub, promising it would create “quality jobs” and inject new life into the economy.The venture is the flagship project in a US-led coalition seeking to build China-free AI supply chains spanning critical minerals, semiconductors and logistics.\n\n“A product of the 23-member strong and US-led\n\n[Pax Silica Initiative](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3360833/anthropic-china-and-why-pax-silica-architect-thinks-us-can-keep-ai-lead?module=inline&pgtype=article?module=inline&pgtype=article), the[Pax Silica Industrial Hub](https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3360932/philippines-pax-silica-ai-hub-plan-slammed-mineral-plunder?module=inline&pgtype=article)will create an ecosystem that will have AI at its core,” Marcos said.“It will bring quality jobs to our people, accelerate our industrial competitiveness, and revitalise our economy.”\n\nThe promise is to establish an advanced manufacturing and logistics centre in the global AI and technology value chain.\n\nBut critics warn that the project could erode Philippine sovereignty, displace farming communities, and cause environmental harm.\n\nAdvertisement\n\nSelect Voice\n\nSelect Speed\n\n1.00x", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-philippines-sovereignty-and-the-pax-silica-industrial-hub-how-us-helberg-it", "canonical_source": "https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3362161/philippines-sovereignty-and-pax-silica-industrial-hub-how-helberg-sees-it?utm_source=rss_feed", "published_at": "2026-07-28 14:00:10+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-28 14:28:24.595142+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-policy", "ai-infrastructure"], "entities": ["Jacob Helberg", "Ferdinand Marcos Jr.", "Pax Silica Initiative", "Pax Silica Industrial Hub", "Philippines", "United States", "China"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-philippines-sovereignty-and-the-pax-silica-industrial-hub-how-us-helberg-it", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-philippines-sovereignty-and-the-pax-silica-industrial-hub-how-us-helberg-it.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-philippines-sovereignty-and-the-pax-silica-industrial-hub-how-us-helberg-it.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-philippines-sovereignty-and-the-pax-silica-industrial-hub-how-us-helberg-it.jsonld"}}