For the first time since COCOM dissolved in 1994, the United States is assembling a formal technology bloc. Taiwan signed the Pax Silica Declaration on January 27, 2026—making the world's dominant chip manufacturer a formal participant alongside Israel, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Netherlands, UK, Australia, Qatar, and the UAE. The signing occurred during the U.S.-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, with Under Secretary Jacob Helberg and Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin witnessing AIT and TECRO endorse principles of 'mutual prosperity, technological progress, and supply chain resilience.' Two days later, Helberg confirmed India will join in February 2026, which would bring the world's two largest democracies and 90% of advanced chip production into a single coalition.
For the first time since COCOM dissolved in 1994, the United States is assembling a formal technology bloc. Taiwan signed the Pax Silica Declaration on January 27, 2026—making the world's dominant chip manufacturer a formal participant alongside Israel, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Netherlands, UK, Australia, Qatar, and the UAE. The signing occurred during the U.S.-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, with Under Secretary Jacob Helberg and Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin witnessing AIT and TECRO endorse principles of 'mutual prosperity, technological progress, and supply chain resilience.' Two days later, Helberg confirmed India will join in February 2026, which would bring the world's two largest democracies and 90% of advanced chip production into a single coalition.
Pax Silica represents a structural shift in how Washington manages technology competition with Beijing. Rather than relying on export controls alone—though the U.S. did adjust its H200 chip policy to 'case-by-case review' on January 13—the initiative creates an affirmative bloc pooling compute, critical minerals, energy, and manufacturing capacity. Ten countries have now signed, with India expected next month. The coalition's expansion into the Gulf (Qatar and UAE bring over $1.5 trillion in sovereign wealth) and Taiwan's formal participation address the two gaps that limited previous coordination efforts: capital for infrastructure buildout and access to cutting-edge fabrication. The question is whether this 'coalition of capabilities' can achieve what COCOM never quite managed: sustained technological advantage through genuine coordination.
