India and the United States have been at odds over tariffs and trade deal negotiations. Amid this, the ongoing tussle for critical minerals has also opened multiple fronts where the world powers are competing for a slice of the resources, largely controlled by China. Last week, the United States announced the formation of Pax Silic – a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure, prosperous, and innovation driven silicon supply chain—from critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and logistics. Pax Silica seeks to establish a durable economic order that underwrites an AI-driven era of prosperity across partner countries, said the US government in a statement.
While the grouping included Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia, alongside guest contributions from Taiwan, the European Union, Canada, and the OECD, it left India out of the league. This raised a sharp attack from the Indian National Congress against the Narendra Modi government.
The Congress party blamed PM Modi for the ‘sharp downturn’ in his relations with US President Donald Trump. “Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group. This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC,” said Jairam Ramesh.
What Are The Aims Of Pax Silica?
Pax Silica aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence, and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
Why Pax Silica?
The US government says the partners are home to the most important companies and investors powering the global AI supply chain and, thus, will work towards improving supply chains.
“Across the United States and its partners, a clear consensus has emerged: secure supply chains, trusted technology, and strategic infrastructure are indispensable to national power and economic growth,” said the US government.
The initiative responds to:
* Growing demand from partners to deepen economic and technology cooperation with the United States.
* The understanding that AI represents a transformative force for our long-term prosperity.
* Recognition that trustworthy systems are essential for safeguarding our mutual security and prosperity.
* Increasing risks from coercive dependencies.
* The importance of fair market practices and policy coordination to protect sensitive technologies and critical infrastructure.
Impact On India-US Ties
While the United States said that the grouping is not about isolating others, but about coordinating with partners who want to remain competitive and prosperous, it clearly indicates the bias Washington holds against India, the fourth largest economy of the world.
The United States recognises that India requires critical minerals for several strategic projects and that China has been undermining New Delhi’s ambitions in this area. Despite this, Washington has excluded India from the grouping. One major factor behind the decision appears to be India’s hesitation to open its agriculture sector to US interests during the ongoing trade negotiations. However, this could prove a strategic misstep, just like the Donald Trump imposed tariffs.
India has positioned itself as a key pillar of US strategy in the Indo-Pacific, particularly in balancing China’s dominance across supply chains, technology, and critical minerals. Excluding India from Pax Silica weakens the narrative of India as a trusted, indispensable partner in building resilient, China-independent ecosystems. For New Delhi, the move reinforces perceptions that Washington’s partnerships remain conditional and subject to commercial pressure.
Pax Silica is explicitly designed to reduce dependence on China across minerals, semiconductors, and AI infrastructure. India is one of the few countries with the scale, workforce, and geopolitical motivation to support that objective. Keeping India outside the framework risks slowing diversification efforts and may inadvertently strengthen China’s leverage if alternative supply chains fail to reach scale quickly.
Initiatives like the Quad are built on the premise of shared strategic goals rather than narrow economic compliance. If India perceives Pax Silica as a closed club rather than an inclusive strategic platform, it may become more cautious about future US-led frameworks—reducing momentum for collective action on technology, climate, and security. The US move could weaken both the credibility of the project and the resilience of Indo-US ties at a critical moment in global power competition.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
