Critical Defence Minerals

Rare Earth Resilience: How NATO Can Secure Its Technological Future Amid US-China Rivalry

As US-China rivalry escalates, China’s new export curbs on rare earths have exposed NATO’s dangerous dependence on external suppliers for the minerals underpinning its defence industries. Daniel Lincoln argues that the Alliance must develop a unified industrial strategy to secure access to critical materials, independent of both Washington and Beijing. By building diversified supply chains, joint stockpiles, and integrated processing capacity, he contends that NATO can turn resource vulnerability into strategic resilience.

Asia-Pacific Development Energy & Resources Indo-Pacific and NATO International Relations Investment

Beneath the Surface: China’s Deep-Sea Diplomacy in the Pacific Ocean

In this article, Narayan Srivastava examines how China’s accelerating push into deep-
sea mineral partnerships across the Cook Islands, Kiribati, and Tonga is reshaping the
South Pacific’s strategic balance. The article also highlights emerging vulnerabilities for
Canada and NATO in critical mineral supply chains. The piece evaluates how Pacific
resource politics now intersect with broader questions of regional dependence, maritime influence, and great-power competition.

Ben Hess Canada Defence Spending Defense Development Energy & Resources Investment Procurement Technology Trade

Critical Defence Minerals: Rare Earths

Consumer demand for certain technologies such as cellular phones and computers has expanded dramatically, and the supply of specialty minerals required for their manufacture has become a centralized enterprise. These same specialty minerals are also required for defence technologies, which has resulted in the creation of a near-monopoly for most of the minerals required to Read More…