A series of agreements involving the United States and several other nations has become the key to containing potential Chinese aggression. The developments encompassing several international agreements spanning many years have been compared to a NATO Treaty for the Indo-Pacific region. One such agreement is the Memorandum of Agreement between the United States Department of Defense and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines Department of National Defense; the memorandum concerns Communications Interoperability and Security (CISMOA), entered into force on February 27, 2004.
Read more: Philippine National Security & InteroperabilityIn 2004, Philippines and the United States had already been focusing on developing their shared security alliance and commitments under the 1951 United States-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty. The Mutual Defense Treaty commits the two nations to defend against armed attacks on either country’s armed forces, aircraft, and public vessels — including those of their coast guards — anywhere in the South China Sea.
The 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), and CISMOA provided a basis for building interoperability not just between the two nations but with other nations up to and including some NATO countries. Japan and Australia in particular, along with India, Taiwan and several other ASEAN countries are significantly impacted by the commitment to interoperability.
What is interoperability and how is it implemented? One significant component of the developing defensive architecture are the commitments from several nations to share mineral supply chains, especially the rare earth metals that are necessary for everything from missile technology and manufacture of electric vehicles to semiconductor production and artificial intelligence.
The fact that China controls the production and distribution of many such raw materials (and products that require rare earth elements) raises the issue of whether any nation can afford to depend on China for raw materials and products. China has already stopped shipments of strategic rare element materials and other products to Japan because Japan refused to bow to Chinese demands.
One result of China’s aggressive stance is increased production of Japanese military arms and naval assets for its own defense and for sale to other countries, including in particular the Philippines. Meanwhile to United States is investing in future operations for mining, refining and sharing of rare earth materials and other metals, some of which are located in Japan, Australia and the Philippines.
After President Trump imposed duties on Chinese imports, Beijing announced export controls against the U.S. on seven rare-earth elements that power communications equipment, aircraft and missiles. How can the U.S. expect to inflict any significant pain required to deter Chinese aggression in the South China Sea (i.e., the West Philippine Sea) when China possesses so much bargaining power? Production of steel, rare-earth elements, and even pharmaceuticals, to name a few, confers China with the ability to inflict massive pain on U.S. economic and strategic military interests. The U.S. has already begun restricting China’s access to advanced semiconductors and other technology necessary for developing artificial intelligence. Although Netherlands and Japan have export controls on such technology, the U.S. needs to press for further restrictions.
Restricting exports of advanced chips is one option for inflicting pain on China. The U.S. and other industrial countries that have seen domestic industries destroyed by China’s aggressive trade dominance also need to coordinate trade measures and stimulate strategically important industries such as shipbuilding, production of steel and mining operations. This is exactly what has been happening between Japan, the Philippines and other U.S. partners as interoperability begins to be implemented. Japan is now expected to build ships in the U.S. and the Philippines.
China’s shipbuilding capability is over 200 times greater than the United States. Lack of shipyard capacity has become a huge liability for the U.S. Navy. Expanding Japan’s world-class shipyards capable of producing sophisticated naval platforms for its navy could also support allied fleets operating in the Indo-Pacific. According to the U.S. Naval Institute, American officials are considering foreign designs and having U.S. warship components built in overseas yards as part of an expansive manufacturing study proposed in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget. Shipbuilding in Japan and the Philippines is being facilitated through cooperation with the U.S. and Australia.
Congress needs to take steps to bring ship building and other industries back to the United States. It looks like Japan will be building ships in the U.S. and the Philippines. Building infrastructure for mining rare earths is going to take many years. The Chinese government has enforced it’s industrial dominance in key categories in order to enhance its own military interests by virtually monopolizing strategically important goods.
Coordinated strategies to curtail Chinese control of strategic resources are needed. For example, Congressional action is required both to increase shipbuilding and restrict shipping companies, insurers, brokers, and banks from supporting shipments that threaten U.S. strategic interests. Progress is already being seen with U.S. naval control over energy trade routes and sharing of intelligence between U.S. partners, specifically in the Indo-Pacific theater of operations. The military action against Iran is bringing many of these issues into focus.
Despite its large oil reserves, China’s steel industry depends on imports of iron ore from Australia. Restricting copper and lithium along with limiting China’s access to cobalt and other materials will deter China from using its own distribution channels to threaten U.S. partners. But only if improved production and distribution of rare-earth elements can be achieved for the U.S. and its strategic partners.
The new defense architecture promotes sharing of intelligence, raw materials, distribution, and mutual defense. The goal is to reduce dependence on the United States and reinforce security for Taiwan which most experts view as linked to security for the Philippines and other First Island Chain nations. Much of what is discussed here is outlined in a Foreign Affairs article entitled The Fault Lines in China’s Power, by Ely Ratner and Nick Danby.
NATO can remain relevant if NATO nations increase defense spending and develop cooperation with nations that recognize the threat of Chinese aggression in the South China sea and beyond the Indo-Pacific region. It is encouraging that some NATO countries are already committing to partnership with ASEAN nations. The days when European governments conduct trade relations with China while refusing to pay for their own defense and ignoring the interests of the U.S. and other U.S. partners have come to an end. Trade needs to be conducted in a manner that is consistent with maintaining interoperability in the Pacific and deterring aggression wherever threats might emerge.
The following interesting update is posted on X regarding the alleged imminent collapse of Beijing’s trade leverage:
During their upcoming July 1–3 summit, Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi and Indian PM Narendra Modi will sign a landmark Joint Declaration on Economic Security Cooperation. The pact creates a powerful defensive front to openly resist economic coercion—a direct response to the CCP’s aggressive weaponization of raw materials and unexpected export restrictions.
To completely insulate vital technologies from political blackmail, the alliance couples Japan’s high-tech semiconductor manufacturing equipment with India’s massive production scale, anchored by developments like the $9.6 billion Tata fabrication hub. To shatter Beijing’s processing monopoly, the deal reinforces critical mineral supply chains through strategic joint ventures, such as the Toyota Tsusho rare earth processing facility in India that exports directly to Tokyo.
Managed under the Japan-India Economic Security Dialogue, the agreement formalizes a rapid-response mechanism against sudden market disruptions. The strategic roadmap systematically secures five priority areas: semiconductors, rare earth minerals, clean energy (like green hydrogen), pharmaceuticals, and trusted ICT networks.
Can this powerful democratic alliance permanently neutralize the CCP’s chokehold on the global tech supply chain?
See @Unveiled_ChinaX
Beijing blacklisted 20 more Japanese tech and defense giants. This latest escalation represents an ongoing and aggressive supply chain blockade. Furthermore, China is attempting to completely strangle Japan’s leadership in the defense of Philippines, Taiwan and other sovereign nations threatened by China’s geopolitical ambitions.
China’s Ministry of Commerce issued announcements cutting off critical civilian-military dual-use exports to major entities. The list now targets the National Institute for Defense Studies, which serves as Japan’s flagship military think tank, alongside specialized advanced component subsidiaries of industrial giants Komatsu, Fujitsu, and Mitsubishi Electric.
China placed another twenty firms, including Mitsui E&S, on a highly restrictive watch list. The CCP claims this is retaliation for Japan’s defense buildup and its strategic stance on Taiwan. By leveraging its monopoly over rare earths and raw materials, Beijing is legally barring global suppliers from sending Chinese-origin parts to these entities without express approval. The CCP is weaponizing trade to isolate America’s strongest ally in Asia. China has initiated steps that will lead to decoupling trading with the U.S. and our economic partners. Many of the Trump administration’s controversial actions — including actions against Venezuela and Iran — are directed toward strategically restraining China’s drive to achieve Indo-Pacific hegemony.
One component of the new strategic architecture is digital & technology security along with intelligence sharing between nations. For example, Japan is engaged in breaking the CCP’s chokehold on the world’s most critical data pipelines. Backed by an initial 8 billion yen investment, Tokyo has initiated a Digital Corridor initiative under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s updated Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy. The strategy deploys eight critical infrastructure projects alongside Taiwan and India to systematically neutralize authoritarian digital influence.
In Taiwan, Japanese tech leaders like NEC, which commands 25 percent of the global undersea cable market, are hardening submarine cables connecting the two nations. The cables suffer frequent, highly suspicious disruptions.
According to @Unveiled_ChinaX, “the network includes India’s booming data center sector. Tech giant NTT is launching trials of its next-generation Innovative Optical and Wireless Network all-optical technology. Coupled with separate secure financial transaction trials across India and Singapore, as well as remote mining infrastructure tests in Chile, this framework establishes a highly reliable, rules-based alternative to China’s state-controlled Digital Silk Road.”
By securing undersea fiber, next-gen optics, and advanced chip supply chains, Tokyo is ensuring democratic allies dominate strategic development of AI and digital innovation.
Japan recently defended the economic interests of Japan, the U.S. and other nations by implementing a screening mechanism to stop China’s covert operations. Chinese networks use Japan as a backdoor—smuggling advanced Nvidia AI chips to China, routing illicit fentanyl precursors, and compromising Japan Self-Defense Forces networks with state-linked malware.
“To halt this systemic economic coercion by the Chinese Communist Party, the Diet passed sweeping amendments to the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. The new framework completely closes the loophole on indirect acquisitions via complex offshore corporate structures and slashes notification thresholds to a razor-thin 1 percent for high-risk foreign buyers.”
See @Unveiled_ChinaX
The Ministry of Finance recently demonstrated it means business by blocking a 1.7 billion dollar foreign acquisition of Makino Milling Machine Company. Manufacturing precision tools used in aerospace and missile defense is critical to the mutual defense of the whole region and Japan’s strategy requires cooperation among all the nations engaged in developing a coordinated defense to imminent Chinese aggression.
Improved intelligence sharing builds a shield protecting allied critical tech supply chains, including U.S. technology. The Trump administration is quietly encouraging such interoperability among nations willing to oppose Chinese hegemony in the Western Pacific.
