{
  "id": 10440936,
  "title": "Beyond high-profile wars, a worldwide battle for resources",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/beyond-high-profile-wars-a-worldwide-battle-for-resources",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-28T11:56:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnists/2026/09/1543250/beyond-high-profile-wars-worldwide-battle-resources"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In 2026, the global resource race has expanded beyond high-profile wars, with conflicts over materials like lithium, rare earths, and minerals driving tensions in various regions. Pakistan's Balochistan province has been a hotspot, with at least 40 mining-related incidents reported this year, including attacks on mining vehicles and suspected extrajudicial killings of suspected militants. Local media and global monitoring NGO ACLED attribute the attacks to ethnic Baloch militants, though Pakistan routinely blames India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for supporting the group. India denies any involvement.\n\nThe US, European Union, and Pacific nations, particularly Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Taiwan, are locked in a high-stakes race to uncouple from China in key resource sectors. Rare earths and minerals continue to fuel conflict in central Africa, while Sudan's civil war is now largely funded by gold smuggling by groups involved in ethnic violence. The US-Iran conflict, sparked by Operation Epic Fury, threatens global energy supply and could derail growth. The European Commission joined the US-led Pax Silica, a coalition of over 20 nations, to secure control of critical minerals. Despite Beijing's control over 70% of rare earth mining, refining, and production, the US continues to struggle to regain this initiative.\n\nKazakhstan's recent signing of the US-run Pax Silica, despite joining the China-run World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO), highlights the complex dynamics in Central Asia, where nations are vying for resource control. The US has hosted critical mineral summits with Central Asian nations, and South Korea is set to launch its own strategy. These resource battles are ongoing, with the scramble for critical materials in the new industrial age only just beginning.",
  "summary": "ACCORDING to Pakistani media, the militants who stormed a lithium mining site in Balochistan last month had a simple message: They were no longer prepared to tolerate mining operations in the region, and foreign and local mining firms should stay away.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}