Phnom Penh – September 29, 2026 -- Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand are shipping raw critical minerals abroad while processing and value capture happen elsewhere, according to a new report from Fair Finance Asia (FFA) and research partner Profundo.
Local-benefit clauses are consistently absent from mining agreements
The report, titled Extraction to Equity, examined critical minerals trade agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) across the four ASEAN states using public data through December 2025. It found that local-benefits clauses, sustainability standards, and equitable value-sharing provisions were consistently missing, leaving source countries without leverage to demand better terms.
Report questions whether defense, not renewables, is driving mineral demand
FFA's analysis raises concerns about who benefits from the current extraction model, questioning how much demand for these minerals stems from defense applications rather than renewable energy needs, and whose interests are prioritized in deal structuring.
FFA urges ASEAN regulators to mandate enforceable safeguards over voluntary pledges
The report calls on ASEAN member states and financial regulators to incentivize alternatives to extractivism and to formally endorse the UN Principles to Guide Critical Energy Transition Minerals Towards Equity and Justice. Contributors from Oxfam in Cambodia, The PRAKARSA, the Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society, Oxfam Pilipinas, and Fair Finance Thailand jointly pressed for mandatory community consent requirements, revenue transparency, and stronger ESG conditions on bank and investor financing.
Bernadette Victorio, Program Lead at Fair Finance Asia, said the network entered this analysis because communities living with extractivism cannot demand terms that have not yet been mapped.
Juliette Laplane, Senior Researcher at Profundo, noted that critical minerals agreements need to move past market access alone toward enforceable safeguards covering local value addition, fair pricing, and civil society participation.