US Pax Silica hub plan hits Philippine sovereignty wall: ‘no special arrangement’

US Pax Silica hub plan hits Philippine sovereignty wall: ‘no special arrangement’Manila pushes back against reports that a US-backed AI industrial hub will come under US laws and diplomatic protections4-MIN READ4-MIN3ListenPublished: 10:30am, 24 May 2026A US plan to build an “AI-native” industrial hub in the Philippines has highlighted the political sensitivities around Washington’s push to secure critical technology supply chains, after Manila rejected proposals for the zone to be governed by US laws or covered by diplomatic protections.Philippine officials said the planned economic security zone under Washington’s Pax Silica initiative would remain covered by local laws, clarifying that there would be “no special arrangement” for the US-backed project.Analysts say the dispute points to a broader challenge: whether the Philippines can offer investors enough certainty while overcoming the infrastructure, bureaucratic and geopolitical hurdles that have long hindered foreign investment.Select VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x