Pax Silica (PG) 

India is joining "Pax Silica," a U.S.-led artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain alliance designed to keep China in check.

According to reports from Bloomberg, the Associated Press, and others on the 20th (local time), India announced on that day that it had signed the "Pax Silica" declaration.

Pax Silica is an economic security alliance for the AI era, with participation to date from the United States, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Israel, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Qatar.

U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said, "Pax Silica will be a gathering of nations that believe technology should lead to free people and free markets," adding, "India's participation is not merely symbolic but strategic and essential."

Ambassador Gor proposed that India join Pax Silica shortly after assuming his post as U.S. Ambassador to India last month.

The AP assessed that the relationship between the two countries, which had been strained by tariff disputes since last year due to India's imports of Russian crude oil, appears to be recovering following a recent trade agreement.

It further added that India's participation in Pax Silica is a strategic move for both nations to expand cooperation beyond economics into the realms of technology and security, thereby strengthening India's role as a key partner in countering China in the Indo-Pacific region.

Ambassador Gor also emphasized, "The potential for cooperation between our two countries—from trade agreements to Pax Silica and the defense sector—is limitless."

He informed reporters that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited U.S. President Donald Trump to India, though he did not mention specific dates.

He also added that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to visit India within the next few months to attend a meeting of the "Quad," the security dialogue group comprising the United States, Japan, Australia, and India.

Pax Silica combines the Latin word "Pax," meaning peace, with "Silica," a material used in semiconductors. The name intentionally evokes "Pax Romana" and "Pax Americana," periods when the Roman Empire and the United States, respectively, led the global order.

Previously, the U.S. State Department described Pax Silica as a "U.S.-led strategic initiative to build a secure, prosperous, and innovative silicon supply chain" covering critical minerals, energy, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, and AI infrastructure and logistics.

While the primary purpose of Pax Silica is to strengthen AI supply chains through cooperation among allies, it is also seen as having an underlying objective of keeping China in check as it rapidly catches up to and threatens the United States in AI and other advanced technologies.