India can help reshape semiconductor and rare earth supply map in Southeast Asia
Although no single silver bullet exists to overturn decades of Chinese dominance, yet the combination of US defence funding, EU market regulations, JOGMEC diplomacy and Indian exploration is already reshaping the supply map, said a new report.
JOGMEC diplomacy refers to the strategic use of the Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) to secure Japan's energy and resource needs, while also contributing to global resource development.
"Countries that combine capital, creativity, and credible standards stand the best chance of navigating the rare-earth era without succumbing to strategic chokeholds," according to a latest report published by Politeia Research Foundation (PRF), a non-profit initiative.
India's ongoing renegotiation of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) has a significant potential to reshape the trade dynamics and supply chain movements between India and Southeast Asian nations, according to the report authored by Madhav Maheshwari, a lawyer and independent policy consultant.
India had offered duty concessions on 71 per cent of its tariff lines, whereas ASEAN countries provided significantly lower market access, with Indonesia opening only 41 per cent of its tariff lines, Vietnam 66.5 per cent, and Thailand 67 per cent.
The report further mentioned that this imbalance led to a substantial disparity and led to a significant increase in India's trade deficit with ASEAN, rising from just $5 billion in 2010–11 to $43.57 billion in 2022–23, with semiconductors constituting a major component among the imports.
"India has significant trade volumes from Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Such imbalance and the exploitation of the rules of origin provisions, which are also the main drivers of the ongoing renegotiation," the report emphasised.
The India-Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, signed in September 2024, provides for a specific memorandum of understanding on semiconductor ecosystem partnership, which establishes frameworks for strategic bilateral cooperation. The fresh renegotiated agreement aims to tackle the Chinese problem faced by India while also facilitating Singapore's participation in the fast-growing Indian market.
Malaysia is also one of the largest trading partners for India, with a total trade of $20 billion in 2023–24.
"The trade imbalance between Malaysia and India also suggests that Malaysia may need to offer greater market access in the renegotiation phase. Vietnam's position is also important because it represents the type of manufacturing hub that India is competing with," said the report.
"Both Thailand and Indonesia also play an important role in reshaping the dynamics, considering intensified competition and essentially trying to serve themselves as alternatives to China-dependent supply chains and products. This reflects a broader shift in global semiconductor geopolitics. ASEAN's strategic position in global semiconductor trade networks..." the report emphasised.
In order to break the Chinese monopoly on rare earth processing, particularly dealing with Myanmar, "India could latch on to this opportunity, being the neighbour and help deal with the Chinese monopoly."
The report further stated that India and the Southeast Asian countries should prioritise upgrading their investments in Myanmar.
"Initiatives like the G7 Critical Minerals Action Plan, which are widely endorsed by Australia, India and South Korea, should provide an expanded scope to provide targeted support for Southeast Asian processing capabilities and infrastructure development," the PRF report noted.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
29 minutes ago
- First Post
US-Pakistan ‘counter-terrorism' dialogue: A cover to suppress Baloch movement
The US, apparently the world's most powerful democracy, entirely ignores the fact that it is the Pakistani practices that are fuelling the Baloch insurgency. (Image: X@BalochYakjehtiC) If you want to collapse in shock, read the latest gem from the US-Pakistan dialogue. This one is on counterterrorism and lauds Pakistan's actions in such laudatory terms as to make any intelligence officer of any country feel sick. Regardless of reality, it seems Trump's United States is on a headlong path against India and, worse, against logic. It might be an attempt to wean the country away from China and drag it firmly into the US camp, or it could be just petty point scoring. Whatever the motives, the news is not good. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The US-Pakistan Counterterrorism Dialogue Consider the Joint Statement, which says, 'Both delegations underscored the critical importance of developing effective approaches to terrorist threats, including those posed by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), ISIS-Khorasan, and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and applauded Pakistan's continued successes in containing terrorist entities that pose a threat to the peace and security of the region and the world'. There's worse. The US 'expressed condolences for the loss of civilians and members of law enforcement agencies in terrorist incidents in Pakistan, including the barbaric Jaffar Express terrorist attack and the bombing of a school bus in Khuzdar'. There is nothing to indicate that the Jaffar bus attack killed innocent civilians, but the BLA did kill security forces and their colleagues in intelligence. True also, that the school bus attack in May 2025 was particularly horrifying. But the BLA is the last group ever to do such an attack on their own. It would set the Baloch against them, and they know it. Pakistan's agencies are not below killing their own or even the Chinese. Remember the attack on the latter at Dasu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last year that killed five Chinese travelling to a power project site? That was blamed on the Pakistanis themselves, to get Beijing to put pressure on Afghanistan on the TTP. And it worked. That's exactly what China did, pressuring Kabul to mend relations with Islamabad on May 21st post Sindoor, in an 'informal' trilateral interaction. Targeting Baloch Now it's the turn of the US. Its intelligence agencies are well aware of the fact that the Baloch have never ever targeted the US, not even when its logistics lines were going through their land to fight the mujahideen or later the Taliban. In fact, the odd reality is that the Majeed Brigade, now officially designated as a terrorist group, have only attacked the Chinese relentlessly for poaching on their land at the behest of the 'Punjabis'. Logic demands that the US should quietly give them a hand against their sworn competitor. But it seems not to be. The farcical nature of the whole joint statement is apparent from the fact that the Pakistani signatory was Nabeel Munir, Special Secretary to the United Nations. Not a single Pakistani counter-terrorism official or anyone from the Interior Ministry. Last year's dialogue also had similar representation but was far less laudatory and more matter-of-fact. It also noted US training of Pakistani personnel on counterterrorism. Most importantly, the 2024 statement made no mention of the BLA, though it was designated as a terrorist group in 2019. This time the focus is almost entirely on it, with the TTP just an add-on. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Accommodation of Pakistan's Balochistan Narrative by the US That is a worrying slide in policy, accommodating Pakistan's frequent complaints of Indian backing of the Baloch resistance. The one and only 'evidence' that Rawalpindi claims is the arrest of former navy officer Kulbushan Jadhav, who was kidnapped from Iran and brought into Pakistan and made to 'confess' to various sins. Compare this to the available data on Pakistanis not in prison for terrorist activities, drug running and the like, but the hundreds of protests and agitations organised every year on 'Kashmir Solidarity Day' or on any pretext whatsoever on Kashmir. There has yet to be a single protest in India on Balochistan. The Indian public is largely ignorant of the serious Baloch crisis which has been brewing since Pakistan's independence, with rebellion after rebellion leading to the kidnapping, torture and deaths of thousands. That includes entirely peaceful protestors like the charismatic Mehrang Baloch, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and now languishing in prison — with no access allowed to her family — and others like Mama Qadeer, leader of the 'Voice of Baloch', nominated for the Nelson Mandela peace award. Others, including their family members, lie incarcerated too. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Yet, the US, apparently the world's most powerful democracy, entirely ignores the fact that it is such Pakistani practices that are fuelling the Baloch insurgency. Even if a foreign power is training fighters, it cannot, by any stretch of the imagination or even with the largest purse, create the groundswell of support for the fighters among ordinary people. Also Baloch insurgency has turned a page. It is no longer a platform for the somewhat elite tribal leaders. BLA fighters are heavily part of student organisations and carry those ideals with them that lie with the youth. Shari Baloch, the first female suicide bomber, was an academic with an degree. An additional point the US agencies would obviously know. There is not a shred of obscurantism or extremism about the BLA. US Motivation and Further The question that then arises is US motivation for this unalloyed public support, with the State Department spokesperson reiterating the important role played by the US in ending the conflict while then referring to the US–Pakistan counterterrorism dialogue. But the curious part is that there isn't very much else. No great US financial largesse has come in. The F-16 package of $397 million is a technical package that also prevents these aircraft from being used against India. Neither have there been any weapons commitments — yet. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Pakistan gets almost its entire weaponry from China, but it is parity with India that Pakistan craves, now that the Terrorist Resistance Front, a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba, was designated by the US recently. There is another important aspect. It might also mean that US Central Command is legally free to act against BLA—at least with intelligence—much as it used its drones to kill TTP leaders, on Pakistan's urging. This is dangerous stuff. Meanwhile, the designation benefits China in multiple ways. As a commentator says, it will secure Chinese projects and deal a blow to India. The hope among Pakistanis and Chinese is that Trump will mention—at the very least—that India is a state sponsor of terrorism. It could happen. So far it seems this is a personal grudge held by Trump against India because Delhi refuses to recognise a US role in ending the recent conflict or accept mediation. The latter is non-negotiable, and the State Department bureaucracy probably understands that. The former is a different thing altogether. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Delhi could acknowledge that Islamabad—as expected—went running to the US the moment it faced serious damage to its installations. That has been true for almost every single conflict between the two. India should also have anticipated the Trump offer of mediation, given that he offered this to an exuberant Imran Khan in 2019. Pakistan took advantage of that. India got the 'bad guy' image again, as Rawalpindi knew it would. Time to change corners, as it's going to be the Baloch who will suffer. Acknowledge the historical truth of the Pakistan army using the US for its own mischievous ends. On no account must Islamabad be rewarded with 'mediation', simply because there is nothing to mediate. Especially since it has yet to detain or even mildly shake its finger at the many terrorists within its soil. Meanwhile, it's time to name and shame. Get each terrorist into the limelight through media and diplomacy. Ramp up the terrorist dialogue. As the late strategic affairs analyst K Subramanyam used to say, even if one person listens, that's good enough. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The author is Director (R&A) at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies. She tweets @kartha_tara. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
29 minutes ago
- First Post
Chinese FM Wang Yi to visit India from Aug 18-19, will meet Jaishankar and NSA Doval
During his one-day visit, Yi will meet NSA Doval to hold the 24th round of the Special Representatives' (SR) Talks on the India-China boundary question Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit India on Monday ahead of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's visit to Moscow. File photo/AP The Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday confirmed Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to India. He will be on an official trip to New Delhi from August 18-19 at the invitation of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Yi's visit to India comes at a time when India and China have been taking a series of steps in recent months to improve bilateral relations. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also announced Yi's trip to India. Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong said, 'From August 18 to 20, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Minister of Foreign Affairs and China's Special Representative on the China-India boundary question Wang Yi will visit India.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD MFA：From August 18 to 20, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Minister of Foreign Affairs and China's Special Representative on the China-India boundary question Wang Yi will visit India and hold the 24th Round of Talks Between the Special… — Xu Feihong (@China_Amb_India) August 16, 2025 What will Wang Yi do in India? During his one-day visit, Yi will meet NSA Doval to hold the 24th round of the Special Representatives' (SR) Talks on the India-China boundary question. The Chinese foreign minister is also slated to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his visit. India-China relations Relations between the two Asian giants have been thawing since an agreement last October on patrolling their Himalayan border, easing a five-year standoff that had hurt trade, investment and air travel. Earlier this year, China resumed the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra and India resumed giving visas to Chinese tourists. The two sides are also likely to resume direct flights within weeks. Later this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit China to attend the SCO Summit, his first visit since 2020, when India-China relations sharply deteriorated following Chinese incursions in the Himalayas, including the deadly Galwan Valley clash that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
India.com
29 minutes ago
- India.com
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi To Visit India On Monday
Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi is set to visit India on August 18 (Monday) for the 24th Round of Talks Between the Special Representatives of China and India on the Boundary Question, Beijing confirmed on Saturday. "From August 18 to 20, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Minister of Foreign Affairs and China's Special Representative on the China-India boundary question Wang Yi will visit India and hold the 24th Round of Talks Between the Special Representatives of China and India on the Boundary Question at the invitation of the Indian side," the Chinese Ministry for Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The visit is scheduled to take place shortly before Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit scheduled to take place at Tianjin, from August 31 to September 1. The Chinese side also welcomed PM Modi's participation in the SCO Summit. At a briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said, "China welcomes Prime Minister Modi to China for the SCO Tianjin Summit. We believe that with the concerted effort of all parties, the Tianjin summit will be a gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results, and the SCO will enter a new stage of high-quality development featuring greater solidarity, coordination, dynamism and productiveness." According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, leaders of over 20 countries, including all member states of the SCO and heads of 10 international organisations, will attend relevant events of the summit, which, Jiakun said, will be the "largest summit in scale since the establishment of the SCO." This will be PM Modi's first visit to China since the Galwan clash in 2020, which severely strained bilateral ties. The breakthrough in bilateral talks, first after the Galwan Valley face-off between the soldiers of the two countries at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in June 2020, was made possible after India and China reached an agreement on patrolling along the nearly 3500-km LAC to end the four-year-long border confrontation. In July, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited China to attend the Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Tianjin. He also held discussions with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the meeting. He also called on Chinese President Xi Jinping, along with his fellow SCO Foreign Ministers. Earlier in June, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited China to attend the SCO Defence Ministers Meeting. India had refused to endorse the joint declaration at the SCO Defence Ministers' meeting, citing the exclusion of concerns around terrorism as a key reason. India stated that it wanted concerns about terrorism reflected in the document, which was not acceptable to one particular country; therefore, the statement was not adopted. During his visit, Singh met his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Don Jun, and the two leaders had a "constructive and forward-looking exchange of views" on issues related to bilateral ties. In June, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval also visited China to attend the 20th Meeting of the SCO Security Council Secretaries. In his intervention at the meeting, he highlighted the need to shun double standards in the fight against terrorism and take decisive actions against UN-proscribed terrorists and entities like LeT, JeM and their proxies and dismantle their terror eco-systems.
