Highlights

• India joined the U.S.-led Pax Silica to secure semiconductor, AI, and critical mineral supply chains while limiting engagement with Trump's Board of Peace to observer status—a strategic move that prioritizes industrial alignment over centralized political frameworks.
• Pax Silica addresses China's 85-90% control of rare earth processing and magnet production, aligning with India's National Critical Minerals Mission and ₹7,280 crore permanent magnet development scheme to reduce coercive dependencies.
• India's calibrated approach exemplifies Great Powers Era 2.0, where supply chain architecture and technology coalitions define state power more than traditional military alliances or symbolic diplomacy.

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India has made a deliberate choice. It formally joined Pax Silica, (opens in a new tab) a U.S.-led coalition aimed at securing semiconductor, AI, and critical mineral supply chains. At the same time, it limited its engagement with President Donald Trump’s newly formed Board of Peace to observer status. For a general reader, the distinction is simple: India embraced technology and supply chain security while avoiding a centralized political peace architecture. This is not ian nconsistency. It is strategic calibration.

India is now the world’s most populous nation and is soon to be the fourth biggest economy as measured by GDP. The world’s largest democracy, this diverse and generally tolerant nation also happens to be the world’s second-largest English-speaking nation. India has a big future based on our Rare Earth Exchanges™ Great Powers Era 2.0 thesis.

Pax Silica: Industrial Alignment in a China-Dominated Landscape

Pax Silica (opens in a new tab), launched in late 2025, is a non-binding coordination framework among trusted partners to reduce coercive dependencies in semiconductors, AI systems, and critical minerals. Its focus is supply chain resilience — not treaty obligations.

That framing aligns with reality. China controls approximately 85–90% of global rare earth processing capacity and the majority of sintered NdFeB magnet production. While India has domestic rare earth reserves, it imports significant volumes of processed materials and remains exposed to Chinese leverage, particularly in downstream separation and magnet supply.

India’s participation, as cited in India Today, (opens in a new tab) fits cleanly within itsNational Critical Minerals Mission, its planned rare earth corridors, and the ₹7,280 crore incentive scheme to develop integrated permanent magnet capacity. Pax Silica offers coordination on export controls, investment screening, and capital flows without surrendering sovereignty. This is an industrial policy anchored in risk mitigation.

The Peace Board: Governance Structure, Not Intent, Drives Caution

The Board of Peace presents a different architecture. Reports indicate a centralized governance model, including a lifetime chairmanship for President Trump and significant financial commitments from members. A reported $1 billion joining fee and authority structures that concentrate decision-making have triggered scrutiny among analysts.

Unlike Pax Silica’s economic and technological scope, the Peace Boardaddresses conflict resolution and reconstruction, with a mandate thatcould expand beyond Gaza.

India traditionally guards strategic autonomy and is cautious about entering frameworks that may evolve into politically binding or precedent-setting institutions, cites reporter Sushim Mukul at India Today.

Speculation regarding personal political motivations remains commentary. What is verifiable is structural: centralized authority, curated membership, and potential mandate expansion. For New Delhi, that combination introduces sovereign risk.

Why This Matters for Rare Earth Investors

The signal to rare earth markets is clear. India is aligning with Western partners to reduce exposure to Chinese dominance of critical minerals, while avoiding geopolitical entanglements that could dilute strategic flexibility.

Technology coalitions create leverage. Personality-driven diplomatic experiments create uncertainty.

In the global race to secure rare earth processing, magnet manufacturing, and semiconductor inputs, supply chain architecture matters more than symbolic diplomacy. India’s move reinforces allied diversification without escalating geopolitical exposure.

Calibration, not contradiction, defines thismoment.

Rare Earth Exchanges’ Great Powers Era 2.0 Thesis

Rare Earth Exchanges™ has argued since our launch that we have entered Great Powers Era 2.0 — a period where economic security, mineral control, industrial capacity, and technology alliances replace traditional military blocs as the primary instruments of state power. In this era, rare earth processing plants, magnet factories, semiconductor fabs, and supply chain corridors matter as much as aircraft carriers.

Pax Silica reflects this structural shift: coalitions are forming not around ideology, but around control of inputs that power AI systems, EVs, defense platforms, and advanced manufacturing. India’s calibrated approach illustrates the core dynamic of Era 2.0 — align on strategic industry, hedge on political overreach, and preserve sovereign maneuverability in a world where supply chains are the new front lines.