U.S. and Australia Are Taking on China - The Geopolitics of Rare Earths and Military Cooperation

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👉 The battle for rare earth elements is intensifying — and this week marked a turning point. The United States and Australia have just signed a historic agreement aimed at reshaping global control over critical minerals. Nearly 78% of the U.S. military-industrial complex depends on imports from China, and Washington is now desperate to diversify.

On October 20, former U.S. President Donald Trump met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Washington to finalize a deal that could change the balance of power in the rare earth sector. Australia has pledged to help the U.S. secure access to vital resources like gallium, lithium, and rare earths, while Trump pushed Canberra to boost defense spending and commit to billions in U.S. military purchases — including submarines, drones, and helicopters.

This isn’t just about minerals — it’s about geopolitics and power. Australia is emerging as a key U.S. ally in the Indo-Pacific, recently forming a defense pact with Papua New Guinea, the first such alliance in the region since the Cold War. Together with the U.S. and U.K., Canberra is positioning itself as a counterweight to China’s dominance in both trade and security.

Under the new agreement, over $1 billion will be invested in joint mining and processing projects in the next six months alone. The Pentagon will fund a new gallium refinery in Western Australia, while the U.S. Export-Import Bank will finance $2.2 billion in additional projects. But despite these moves, China still holds the upper hand — it controls nearly 90% of the world’s rare earth processing capacity, built over decades.

This episode exposes the West’s race to catch up — and how the struggle for minerals is fast becoming a frontline in the U.S.-China rivalry.

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