India’s Act East Policy is a key foreign policy orientation focused on strengthening economic, strategic and overall engagement with East Asian and Southeast Asian nations. It was launched in 2014 to inject new dynamism beyond the Look East policy guiding previous decades.
Evolution from Look East Policy
The Act East Policy built further on the foundation laid by the Look East Policy initiated in the 1990s post the cold war:
- Launched in 1991 under PM Narasimha Rao when global order was realigning
- Aimed at expanding India’s geopolitical space amid rise of Southeast Asian economies
- Focused on forging economic partnerships via trade, investment channels
- Slow initial progress gave way to agreements with ASEAN, Asian nations
- However, required greater momentum and multidimensional partnerships
This led to the Act East Policy under PM Modi in 2014 with an aim to translate vision into action-oriented goals.
Key Principles and Approach
The key guiding principles of India’s Act East Policy involve:
- Action-oriented strategy and outcomes rather than aspirational policy
- Integrating North East region for partnerships with South East Asia
- Joint initiatives spanning economic, cultural, security and technological exchange
- Shared prosperity and development through synergistic partnerships
- Multilateral forums to reinforce bilateral ties
Priority Areas of Collaboration
Some priority areas of collaboration under the Act East policy include:
- Boosting trade, commerce, connectivity and mobility
- Cooperation in science and technology
- Culture and tourism partnerships
- Maritime security cooperation
- Joint efforts on non-traditional security issues
- Educational exchange programs
- Sub-regional development projects
Key Initiatives and Developments
Some key initiatives and developments under the policy include:
- Upgrading ties to Strategic Partnership with Indonesia, Vietnam
- Entry into ASEAN-led forums – East Asia Summit and ADMM+
- Trilateral Highway connecting North East India with ASEAN
- Kaladan Transport project linking Indian ports to Myanmar
- BIMSTEC regional grouping advancing Bay of Bengal ties
- Space cooperation pacts with Japan, Vietnam
- QIDS agreement on import clearance with South Korea
Below table shows rising ASEAN trade since the Act East focus:
India-ASEAN Trade Statistics
| Year | Total Trade with ASEAN (in US$ billion) |
| 2016-17 | 70 |
| 2021-22 | 78.86 |
| 2023-24 | 100 (Target) |
As evident, trade has seen steady rise though yet to achieve the 2023 target highlighting need to further bolster economic engagement under the policy.
Impact and Benefits
Act East Policy has yielded both economic and strategic benefits for India like:
- Deeper regional integration with $5 trillion Southeast Asian economy
- Access to East Asian manufacturing ecosystems and supply chains
- Attracting Asian investors and companies to India
- International support for infrastructure projects in North East regions
- Joint framework for maritime security capacity building in Indian Ocean
However, the ongoing border tensions with China and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to disruption and posed newer challenges as well.
Future Priorities
Moving forward, some areas of focus for further bolstering the Act East Policy include:
- Achieving $200 billion India-ASEAN trade target
- Enhancing connectivity via land, sea and air linkages
- Building digital partnerships – fintech, edutech, healthtech
- Cooperating on renewables, civilian nuclear energy
- Synergies in space technology applications
- Leveraging cinema and cultural cooperation
Key Partnerships and Milestones
- Signed strategic partnership agreements with Indonesia, Australia, Singapore
- Defense partnership with Vietnam – joint patrols, port access, space technology cooperation
- Logistics agreement signed with South Korea in 2022 for naval vessels replenishment
- Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement signed in 2022
- ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific endorsed India’s cooperation vision
Sub-Regional Cooperation Advances
- BIMSTEC Summit hosted by India in 2023 – security, economic cooperation
- Mekong-Ganga cooperation project extended up to 2023 – river management
- Sub-regional grouping of India, Thailand and Myanmar for seamless cargo
- Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) – ecosystem with Japan
Connectivity and Infrastructure Push
- India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway nears completion
- Kaladan Transport Network expected finish by 2025 – connects Indian ports to Myanmar
- Reviewing feasibility of extending Trilateral Highway to Vietnam via Cambodia, Lao PDR
- Partnerships on ports, road, energy infrastructure – Chabahar Port, power plant in Vietnam
The Act East Policy has expanded the arc of India’s geopolitical influence amid a dynamic global order. But much remains to unlock in terms of shared security, prosperity and innovation with willing and able partners in the Indo-Pacific.