India’s Prime Minister highlighted that his visits to Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand will strengthen India’s Act East Policy, MAHASAGAR Vision, and commitment to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
About Act East Policy (AEP)
- Announced in 2014 at the 12th ASEAN-India Summit, upgrading the 1991 Look East Policy.
- Objective: Strengthen economic, strategic, and cultural ties with the Indo-Pacific through bilateral and multilateral engagement.
- Approach: Integrates security, economic, and political dimensions.
- Pillars: 4 Cs—Culture, Commerce, Connectivity & Capacity Building; emerging 5th C: Collaboration.
Significance of AEP
- Strategic Balancing: It positions India as a potential balancer and net security provider in the region, safeguarding critical sea lines of communication.
- Economic: Deepens trade with ASEAN and cooperation in emerging technologies.
- E.g., ASEAN accounts for around 11% of India's global trade.
- Diplomatic: Upgraded ties with key ASEAN countries to Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships.
- Cultural: Strengthens civilizational links through heritage diplomacy (e.g., Buddhist circuits, Ramayana trails), making India a key partner in cultural preservation.
Challenges
- Economic: Trade deficit with ASEAN, exit from Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) talks, and persistent tariff/non-tariff barriers reduces its leverage in regional economic integration.
- Implementation & Connectivity Gaps: Delays in projects such as the India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway due to inadequate infrastructure, geopolitical instability (Myanmar crisis) and weak inter-ministerial coordination.
- Geopolitical: Balancing Indo-Pacific partnerships while respecting ASEAN centrality, e.g., Quad diverges from ASEAN’s preference for non-alignment and strategic autonomy.
- Waning Soft Power: Indian cultural presence and cinema are losing ground to competitors like Korean entertainment.
