{"id":38109,"date":"2025-02-27T19:23:51","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T13:53:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=38109"},"modified":"2025-04-01T16:20:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T10:50:43","slug":"india-look-east-policy-transformed-into-act-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/27-02-2025\/india-look-east-policy-transformed-into-act-east","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s \u2018Look East\u2019 Policy Has Transformed Into \u2018Act East\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/ IR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recently, the Vice-President of India highlighted the transformation of India&#8217;s <strong>&#8220;Look East&#8221; policy into &#8220;Act East&#8221;<\/strong> by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Historical Context and Evolution<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Look East Policy (Post-Cold War Era): <\/strong>Introduced by <strong>Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in 1992<\/strong>, the <strong>Look East Policy<\/strong> sought to rectify India\u2019s historical neglect of Southeast Asia, despite deep cultural and historical ties.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Initially focused on Southeast Asia, the policy later expanded to <strong>East Asia and Oceania.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Primary Objectives: <\/strong>Enhance trade and economic development.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Strengthen strategic and cultural connections with ASEAN nations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Draw inspiration from the economic success stories of East Asia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Initial Outcomes: <\/strong>Reduction of trade barriers to facilitate commerce.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Increased inbound tourism from Southeast Asia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Act East Policy (Post-2014): <\/strong>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/20-03-2021\/indias-efforts-towards-act-east-policy#:~:text=About%20Act%20East%20Policy,which%20was%20promulgated%20in%201992.\">Act East Policy<\/a><\/strong> was a direct evolution of the Look East Policy, emphasizing stronger action and outcomes. In 2011, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged India to play a more active role in the Asia-Pacific, prompting a shift in approach.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In 2014, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj formally declared India was ready to &#8220;Act East,&#8221; a commitment reinforced by Prime Minister Modi.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Key Advancements: <\/strong>Greater emphasis on concrete action and outcomes.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Integration of Northeast India as a critical hub for regional engagement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Recognition of the Indo-Pacific as a strategic and economic priority.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At the <strong>2014 East Asia Summit<\/strong>, PM Modi introduced the <strong>3Cs approach<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Commerce<\/strong> \u2013 Expanding trade and economic ties.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Culture<\/strong> \u2013 Strengthening historical and cultural linkages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Connectivity<\/strong> \u2013 Building infrastructure and digital networks for seamless integration.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Objectives and Achievements of Act East Policy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strategic Expansion:<\/strong> Extended focus beyond <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/08-09-2023\/asean-as-the-central-pillar-of-indias-act-east-policy\"><strong>ASEAN <\/strong><\/a>to the broader Indo-Pacific region.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Strengthened regional groupings like <strong>BIMSTEC, Asia Cooperation Dialogue, and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enhanced defense diplomacy:<\/strong> Sale of <strong>BrahMos missiles<\/strong> to the Philippines.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Military logistics pact<\/strong> with Vietnam.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic and Trade Ties: <\/strong>Reduction in trade barriers.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Greater economic integration with Southeast Asia via <strong>Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increased <strong>foreign investment flows<\/strong> from the region into India.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India has elevated relations to <strong>strategic partnerships<\/strong> with Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, and ASEAN.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India has invited ASEAN countries to join the International Solar Alliance, emphasizing regional integration and effective project implementation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cultural and Soft Power Diplomacy: <\/strong>Promotion of shared cultural heritage, including <strong>Ramayana and Mahabharata traditions<\/strong> and <strong>Buddhist linkages.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hosting of cultural events such as the <strong>Ramayana Festival<\/strong> with Southeast Asian participation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India aims to revive and strengthen <strong>Buddhist and Hindu cultural links<\/strong> to enhance people-to-people connections and regional cooperation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Connectivity: <\/strong>Improved infrastructure development in Northeast India to serve as a gateway to Southeast Asia.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Major projects include:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rhi-Tiddim Road Project<\/strong> and <strong>Border Haats<\/strong> to strengthen connectivity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges and Areas of Improvement<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strategic and Economic Challenges:<\/strong><strong>Environmental impact<\/strong> of urbanization and industrialization in Northeast India.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) presents strong competition by offering attractive financial incentives to Southeast Asian nations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>China\u2019s BCIM-EC (Bangladesh, China, India, <\/strong><strong>Myanmar Economic Corridor)<\/strong> poses competitive challenges in connectivity and infrastructure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Myanmar\u2019s political transition<\/strong> is becoming increasingly challenging for India.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Despite its strategic geographical proximity to ASEAN nations, the Northeast is not yet fully integrated into India\u2019s Bharatmala and Sagarmala projects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Soft Power and Cultural Challenges: <strong>China\u2019s claim over Buddhist heritage<\/strong> challenges India\u2019s narrative.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Limited linguistic engagement:<\/strong> Few Indian universities offer courses in <strong>Khmer, Bahasa Indonesia, Thai, or Burmese.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Connectivity Bottlenecks:<\/strong><strong>Delays in infrastructure projects<\/strong> like the <strong>Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Underdeveloped transport and trade facilities<\/strong> in Northeast India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion and Way Forward&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The road to <strong>greater Act East Policy<\/strong> will require infrastructure development, investment, and addressing security issues to ensure mutual growth and progress.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s North-East must play a <strong>central role in strengthening ASEAN-India ties<\/strong>, benefiting from the region\u2019s proximity to South East Asia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India&#8217;s connectivity efforts must address infrastructure gaps and ensure seamless integration for improved trade and interaction.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As Southeast Asia becomes <strong>increasingly vulnerable to climate change<\/strong> and non-traditional security threats, India\u2019s role in regional disaster management, climate diplomacy, and maritime domain awareness is set to grow.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India should also <strong>work to expand its network of strategic partnerships<\/strong> by engaging more proactively with middle powers in the Indo-Pacific.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: TH<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently, the Vice-President of India highlighted the transformation of India&#8217;s &#8220;Look East&#8221; policy into &#8220;Act East&#8221; by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38109"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40131,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38109\/revisions\/40131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}