Critical Mineral Diplomacy and India-ASEAN Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific: Building Resilient Supply Chains
##semicolon##
https://doi.org/10.66871/trf-j.v1i4.007##semicolon##
Critical Mineral Diplomacy, India–ASEAN Relations, Indo-Pacific, Supply Chain Resilience, Strategic Autonomy, Economic Securityसार
The strategic importance of critical minerals has increased and is reshaping the global geopolitics. It has made the secure and resilient supply chains essential for economic security, technological competitiveness and strategic autonomy. With Indo-Pacific emerging as a centre of economic and strategic competition, ASEAN has also become significant due to its critical mineral resources, processing capabilities, and role in regional value chains. Existing research on India-ASEAN relations focuses mainly on trade, connectivity and maritime security. The role of critical mineral diplomacy as a strategic pillar of this relationship is not much explored. The paper addresses this gap and examines how India-ASEAN engagement can strengthen critical mineral supply chain in Indo-Pacific. The study used a qualitative approach based on policy documents, official reports and comparative analysis. It argues that critical minerals represent a new dimension of India’s Indo-Pacific strategy that extends beyond traditional security and trade towards economic resilience and technological security. The study offers a new perspective that critical mineral diplomacy can act as a strategic foundation for deeper India–ASEAN cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. The findings underscore the significance of institutionalizing the India-ASEAN cooperation along the entire value chain of critical minerals, ranging from exploration to extraction, processing, technological collaboration, investments, and recycling. This paper becomes more relevant in the current times when importance of critical minerals has increased due to a shift to the clean energy and digitalization.
##submission.citations##
ASEAN Secretariat. 2025. ASEAN Minerals Cooperation Action Plan (AMCAP-IV) 2026–
2030. ASEAN Secretariat. Official ASEAN link
Baldwin, Richard. 2016. The Great Convergence: Information Technology and the New
Globalization. Harvard University Press. Google Books
Bilek, Pavel, Isabelle Ramdoo, and Murtani Hendriwardani. 2024. ASEAN–IGF Minerals
Cooperation: Scoping Study on Critical Minerals Supply Chains in ASEAN. ASEAN
Secretariat and Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable
Development. Official IGF publication
Chadha, R. 2020. “Skewed Critical Minerals Global Supply Chains Post COVID-19.”
Brookings Institution. Brookings
Farrell, Henry, and Abraham L. Newman. 2019. “Weaponized Interdependence: How Global
Economic Networks Shape State Coercion.” International Security 44 (1): 42–79. DOI
International Energy Agency. 2023. Sustainable and Responsible Critical Mineral Supply
Chains: Guidance for Policy Makers. International Energy Agency. IEA
International Energy Agency. 2026a. Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2026. International
Energy Agency. IEA
International Energy Agency. 2026b. Rare Earth Elements. International Energy Agency. IEA
International Renewable Energy Agency. 2023. Geopolitics of the Energy Transition: Critical
Materials. International Renewable Energy Agency. IRENA
Keohane, Robert O., and Joseph S. Nye. 1977. Power and Interdependence: World Politics in
Transition. Little, Brown and Company. Google Books
Kipgen, N. 2020. “India–ASEAN Relations: The Initiatives, Successes, and Challenges.” India
Review 19 (3): 207–222. Taylor & Francis
Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. 2025. India–ASEAN Relations. Government
of India.
Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India. 2025. “Countering China’s Curbs on Rare
Earth Minerals.” Press Information Bureau.
Ministry of Mines, Government of India. 2023. Critical Minerals for India: Report of the
Committee on Identification of Critical Minerals. Government of India. Official Ministry of
Mines PDF
Ministry of Mines, Government of India. 2025a. Annual Report 2024–25. Government of India.
Ministry of Mines, Government of India. 2025b. Guidelines for Operation of the Incentive
Scheme for Promotion of Critical Minerals Recycling. Government of India. Official Ministry
of Mines PDF
16
Ministry of Mines, Government of India. 2025c. National Critical Mineral Mission.
Government of India. Official Ministry of Mines document
Ministry of Mines, Government of India. 2025d. “National Critical Mineral Mission: Powering
India’s Clean Energy Future.” Press Information Bureau. PIB
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2026. OECD Inventory of Export
Restrictions on Critical Raw Materials 2026: Monitoring the Use of Export Restrictions amid
Growing Market and Policy Tensions. OECD Publishing. OECD
Prime Minister’s Office. 2025. “Cabinet Approves National Critical Mineral Mission to Build
a Resilient Value Chain for Critical Mineral Resources Vital to Green Technologies.”
Government of India. Prime Minister's Office
Qurbani, I. D., Richard J. Heffron, and A. T. S. Rifano. 2021. “Justice and Critical Mineral
Development in Indonesia and across ASEAN.” The Extractive Industries and Society 8 (1):
355–362. ScienceDirect DOI
Seah, Sharon, and Mirza Sadaqat Huda. 2024. Enhancing ASEAN’s Role in Critical Mineral
Supply Chains. ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. ISEAS official publication
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2025. Leveraging Critical Energy
Transition Minerals: Policy Pathways for Sustainable Development. UN DESA Policy Brief
No. 171. United Nations. UN DESA
United Nations Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals. 2024. Resourcing the Energy
Transition: Principles to Guide Critical Energy Transition Minerals towards Equity and
Justice. United Nations. UN Digital Library
UN Trade and Development. 2024. “How Critical Energy Transition Minerals Can Pave the
Way for Shared Prosperity.” November 12. UN Trade and Development
U.S. Geological Survey. 2026. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026. U.S. Department of the
Interior. USGS official publication
World Bank. 2020. Minerals for Climate Action: The Mineral Intensity of the Clean Energy
Transition. World Bank. World Bank PDF
Ministry of Mines, Government of India. 2026. “Geological Survey of India Concludes Field
Season 2025–26 with Major Achievements in Mineral Exploration and Critical Resource
Assessment.” Press Information Bureau. PIB official release
##submission.downloads##
प्रकाशित
अंक
खंड
##submission.license##
##submission.copyrightStatement##
##submission.license.cc.by4.footer##