The recently signed Philippines-United States Critical Minerals Pact last February 4 is a clear sell-out of Philippine natural resources to US imperialist interests. This agreement is part of US attempts to secure cheap and strategic raw materials for the US to tighten control over critical minerals supply chains as it intensifies its economic and political confrontation with China.
The term “critical minerals” refer to minerals and metals that are essential to modern industrial production, renewable energy systems and military technologies. These “rare earth” minerals are essential in the manufacturing of batteries, semiconductors, renewable energy infrastructure, as well as weapons systems. They are considered “critical” because of their strategic importance and the high risk of supply disruption due to concentrated global production and processing.
China currently controls over 69% of global rare earth production and nearly 90% of rare earth processing and refining, as well as commanding major shares of lithium, cobalt, graphite, and nickel processing. The US by contrast, is scrambling to catch up. Last February 4, the US convened a critical minerals ministerial summit with its Western allies, explicitly aimed at shoring up investments to create a critical minerals supply chain independent of Chinese influence.
As early as 2023, right after the US signed an agreement to develop battery technology for electric vehicles with Japan on March 2023, the US has been deliberately preparing the ground for the critical minerals agreement with the Philippines. In November 2023, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) financed a $5 million technical assistance program aimed at mapping resources, reforming domestic regulations, and aligning the mining sector with US supply chain requirements.
The US push for a critical minerals deal with the Philippines is not geared toward building lasting national industries in the country. To date, there are no binding commitments to establish full local processing capacity or ensuring technology transfer. Instead, this critical minerals pact with the Marcos Jr. regime is focused on integrating the Philippines’ substantial reserves of copper, nickel, and cobalt into a US-controlled supply chain.
This pattern of resource predation extends beyond the Philippines. In Venezuela, the US escalated military aggression, abducted President Nicolás Maduro, and now exerts control over the country’s oil outputs, boosting Venezuelan oil exports to the US while displacing Chinese offtake. In January 2026, under US control, Venezuelan oil exports climbed to about 800,000 barrels per day, with approximately 284,000 barrels per day going to the US, as Chinese imports fell. This shift serves US imperialist interests, recompenses major US oil companies such as Chevron, and entrenches Trump’s grip on Venezuelan natural wealth at the expense of the country’s sovereignty and the people’s welfare.
Similarly, the attack on a uranium storage facility in Niger on January 29 (carried out by ISIL and targeting a country whose current regime is backed by Russia) has been linked to attempts to seize control of uranium supplies, another critical mineral central to nuclear energy and weapons systems.
The same logic is being applied to the Philippines. As a semicolonial and semifeudal country, the country is viewed by US imperialism as a site for cheap raw material extraction and a dumping ground for surplus commodities.
Ultimately, Marcos Jr.’s sell-out of the country’s patrimony will serve to feed US war industries. Critical minerals extracted cheaply from the Philippines will be funneled into US-controlled supply chains that underpin advanced weapons systems and military electronics, strengthening the US war machine while the Filipino people bear the costs of extraction, environmental degradation, and even the risk of being collateral damage in a war not of their own making. By tying the Filipino people’s mineral wealth to the US military-industrial complex, Marcos Jr not only surrenders economic sovereignty, but also drags the Philippines deeper into preparations for future wars that do not serve the interests of its people.
source: NDFP