Signal "Pax Silica" Framework: Nine Nations Formalize AI Infrastructure as Geopolitical Alliance Asset

Summary

On December 12, 2025, partner nations signed the Pax Silica Declaration at a summit in Washington DC, spearheaded by US Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg. Sources differ on the founding roster: Rappler names eight signatories (United States, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, United Kingdom, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Australia) while calling them nine original members, whereas the Atlantic Council counts eleven nation-state signatories at launch. The initiative aims to build secure, resilient, innovation-driven supply chains for silicon and critical minerals underpinning AI chips and computing, explicitly to counter China's strength in chip manufacturing and rare-earth refining. Finland, Sweden, Qatar, and India joined after the initial signing. By June 2026, a follow-up Washington summit expanded the coalition to 35 nations, including the EU and several Latin American countries, introducing a "Pax Pass" platform to streamline movement of AI-related goods among trusted partners and a "Foundry School" initiative to train engineers and entrepreneurs across member states.