Joint statement by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) UK, International League of Peoples’ Struggles (ILPS) Britain and the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) Britain.
London, Monday 2 November 2026 – Ahead of Donald Trump’s visit to the Philippines on 16 November for the 49th ASEAN Summit, Filipino and allied organisations in the UK are joining a global call to resist Pax Silica, the US-led alliance that is turning Philippine land, water and labour into a supply base for artificial intelligence and military production. On Saturday 14 November, UK groups will gather in London to build a network against the alliance, which the British government helped to found.
Born of the escalating trade war between the United States and China, the alliance seeks to bring the global supply chains for rare earth and critical minerals, semiconductor chips, military production and artificial intelligence under US direction. At least 24 countries have signed the Pax Silica Declaration, including Australia, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and the United Kingdom, and the Marcos Jr. administration committed the Philippines to it on 17 April 2026.
At the centre of Pax Silica in the Philippines is a 1,620-hectare Economic Security Zone at New Clark City, Tarlac. US Under Secretary of State Jacob Helberg states that the zone will ‘fuse the American expertise in institutions and legal regimes with the Philippines’ industrial comparative advantages’,1 granting the United States enhanced access to Filipino labour, natural resources and the country’s strategic position in the Indo-Pacific. The technologies the hub is designed to support are central to the US ambition, shared with allies such as Israel, to lead in AI and modern warfare.
John Stanley from the International League of Peoples Struggle Britain said:
“The US is escalating their campaign in controlling the AI and critical minerals supply chains through Pax Silica on the expense of resource rich countries in the Global south, and the Philippines is among the first to bear them. The US also takes advantage of the country’s geo-political location, to incite tension and bring its proxy wars in the region and put the lives of millions of Filipino people to danger.”
The organisations also warned of Pax Silica's enormous environmental costs. According to the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), the hub could require 3–5 GW of power, equivalent at the upper end to more than half of the Philippines' existing 9.5 GW renewable energy capacity. Meeting this demand would intensify pressure on land, water and energy resources already strained by shortages and rising costs. Pax Silica also threatens to accelerate mineral extraction. On 18 August 2026, the Marcos Jr. administration signed Executive Order 122, opening 9 million hectares of land to critical mineral mining. The Philippines holds mineral deposits worth an estimated US$1 trillion, including nickel, copper and gold. The organisations warn that expanding extraction for US supply chains could accelerate deforestation, land degradation and the displacement of local communities.Christ Godino of BAYAN UK said:
“Trump is coming to Manila to collect what Marcos Jr. has already promised him: our land, our minerals and the labour of our people, all for a war that is not ours. Pax Silica will not bring development to the Philippines - it will bring displacement to the Aeta and to our farmers, higher bills for our families, and the danger of becoming a frontline in a war between two superpowers. The people will resist. Trump, you are not welcome. You will be met by the Filipino people’s unwavering determination to shut the Pax Silica Down”
While proponents promise jobs in construction and manufacturing, the organisations warn that Pax Silica offers no guarantees of technology transfer or advanced semiconductor expertise, leaving Filipino workers at risk of remaining dependent on low-wage assembly work rather than benefiting from genuine industrialisation.
Helen Rios, Migrante UK Vice Chair Says
“From time and time again, the corrupt Philippine government is lured with plunderous foreign investment projects that promises the Filipinos with jobs and livelihood, but we know that these are lies, we know that their interests is take advantage of us- confined in basic assembly line, choked down in contractual work agreements, no rights and cheap wages under the dictate of foreign corporations. As long as our economy is dependent on foreign investments. There will be no genuine development in our country that will create significant change for the people and the system that forced us to leave the country to survive continues”
Lastly as UK based organisations and members of the Filipino-British diaspora, the UK’s role in these developments has received little public attention. The British government was among the first to sign Pax Silica in December 2025, without any scrutiny in Parliament. On 23 September 2026, it signed a partnership with the Philippines opening access to up to £5 billion in UK Export Finance for infrastructure projects, in sectors such as digital infrastructure, advanced technology, energy and water on which the Pax Silica hub depends.
Norwyn Crame of ICHRP Britain said:
“The British government signed up to Pax Silica without a single debate in Parliament, and it is pouring billions into the AI gold rush with little regard for the peoples whose countries will be plundered to sustain it.”
On Saturday 14 November, BAYAN UK, ILPS Britain and ICHRP Britain will hold a conference in London to build a UK network against Pax Silica, bringing together solidarity organisations, trade unions, researchers and members of the Filipino community in the UK.
#ENDS
Notes to editors
The 49th ASEAN Summit takes place from 16 to 18 November 2026 at the Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay City. President Trump is due in Manila on 16 November.
The £5 billion UK Export Finance partnership was signed on 23 September 2026 by UK Trade Minister Lord Sarwar and Philippine Finance Secretary Frederick Go (DPRTE, 2026).
“CRITICAL MINERALS FOR WHOM? A Policy Brief on Executive Order No. 122: Establishing a National Policy Framework for Developing the Critical Minerals Industry and Reorganizing the Mining Industry Coordinating Council for the Purpose”
by the Center for Environmental Concerns - Philippines
SHUT THE PAX DOWN! conference: Saturday 14 November 2026, 10am to 5pm,
Proposition Studios Bethnal Green. Media are welcome; please contact us to attend.
Media contacts: BAYAN UK: bayan.uk@protonmail.com; ILPS: ilpsbritain@proton.me and ICHRP Britain: info@ichrp-britain.org
Footnotes
1 US Department of State (16 April 2026) Remarks by Under Secretary Helberg in Washington: Philippines Joins Pax Silica Initiative and Launch of Economic Security Zone.