East Asia Forum Quarterly: Volume 18, Number 1, 2026

Description

Critical minerals and rare earths have moved to the centre of economic security agendas. As decarbonisation accelerates and US–China rivalry deepens, governments are racing to secure the supply chains that power green technologies and advanced manufacturing. This issue of the East Asia Forum Quarterly examines the geopolitics of Asia’s resources trade. It explores the tensions between interdependence and rising protectionism, or ‘resource nationalism’, and assesses the implications for regional growth and the global energy transition. Strategic competition may be reshaping mineral supply chains, but the region’s enduring complementarity between producers and consumers suggests that managing vulnerabilities—rather than dismantling interdependence—offers the more durable path forward.