Talks on Pax Silica hub still going ‘extremely well’–DTI

Negotiations between the Philippines and the United States on the latter’s Pax Silica initiative are going “extremely well,” the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Monday, despite the United States saying earlier there would be no announcement yet on the proposed tech and investment hub in Luzon.

Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said any agreement with the United States regarding Pax Silica should have its “own moment,” which should not overshadow the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit starting Nov. 15 and other related events this week.

“Precisely because it’s a significant and transformative project … we do not need to piggyback it with another important event,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Asean Investment Forum on Tuesday.

“With Asean, Apec and several major initiatives occurring in close succession, we felt it would be better for the advanced manufacturing hub to have its own moment rather than compete within an already crowded diplomatic agenda,” Rodolfo said.

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said in July that the signing of an agreement on Pax Silica would be one of the big announcements that can be expected during the Asean Summit.

BCDA is expected to oversee the Pax Silica hub being planned in Tarlac province as one of the key components of the Luzon Economic Corridor.

According to BCDA president and CEO Joshua Bingcang, the United States wanted to finalize negotiations in time for an agreement to be among the “big announcements” during the summit.

But on Saturday, US Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton posted on X that “No such announcement on the Pax Silica Economic Security Zone was ever planned.”

Lipton also said “Decisions will be made in full consultation with the government of the Philippines at the appropriate time.”

Lipton’s post came in the wake of the US midterm elections on Nov. 3 swept by the Democratic Party, whose leaders subsequently said they would investigate unregulated use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other abuses by tech companies.

In Asia, markets were disrupted by a massive selloff of AI and tech stocks following the US midterms.

State dep’t statement

The United States launched Pax Silica in December 2025, calling it a “flagship effort” aimed at linking critical minerals, electronics and other resources among participating states.

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On April 17, Rodolfo signed a declaration committing the Philippines as the 13th member of that multinational effort led by Washington.

The US Department of State subsequently issued a statement “welcom[ing] the Philippines as the thirteenth Pax Silica signatory” and noting that “the United States and the Philippines also announced their plans to establish [an] industrial hub in the Luzon Economic Corridor of the Republic of the Philippines.”

‘Communication efforts’

Rodolfo said resistance to the Pax Silica hub planned for New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac, has “not really” affected the talks between Manila and Washington.

“That has always been part of the equation—that there should be consultations, that there should be more communication efforts for the affected stakeholders,” he said. “That’s not really why there will be no signing.”

The trade official said the Philippines remained hopeful of finalizing its Pax Silica agreement with the United States this year, adding that the tech hub remained on track for its groundbreaking by 2028.