Rare earths should be given their strategic due

Rare earths are regarded as strategic resources, which can be used both for military and civilian purposes. China has the largest reserves and is the biggest producer of rare earths, especially heavy rare earth elements, and mineral resources such as molybdenum, tungsten, antimony and magnesium.

Rare earths are a group of hard-to-pronounce elements that end up in everything from consumer electronics, electric vehicles, solar panels, smartphones and ear buds to lasers, military equipment, advanced weapon sensors, and stealth and jamming technologies.

To fully understand why rare earths and some mineral resources have acquired added importance today, we have to travel back to the Cold War days. During the Cold War, the Western countries led by the United States signed a coordinating convention to ban or restrict the export of advanced technologies and equipment, and certain materials that could be used both for military and civilian purposes to the Soviet Union and its allies, with China also being on the sanctions list.