A CASE STUDY OF AN EXPANSION OF INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY TOWARDS EAST ASIA: LOOK EAST POLICY TO ACT EAST POLICY

Abstract

Foreign policies of the Nation-States being corrected continuously, especially after the Post - Cold war multipolar scenario. India’s partnership with SouthEast Asian Nation-States is a Post – Cold war story. The era of globalisation impels India as well as ASEAN countries to explore opportunities for mutual economic and strategic benefits, as a result of that India adopted the Look East Policy during 1990. Look East Policy being implemented successfully by successive governments. Meanwhile, China is being emerged as a global economic superpower in the last two decades. Due to the rise of Chinese hegemony in the South-East Indian and Indo-Pacific region compel India and other stack holder countries to reshape their foreign policies according to time, to serve their national interests. Consequently, the last Indian Government redefined and renamed the Look East policy to Act East Policy. One could say it as an updated version of Look East policy. In earlier episode policy was limited to South East Asia while in next episode focus of the policy is on whole East Asia. Also, the scope of Look East policy was idealistic and economic-centred, while the scope of the Act East Policy is realistic and vast. The newly emerged Act East Policy has an extra strategic edge over previous Look East Policy, the newer version is multidimensional, and it inculcates the strategic vision like the balance of power in East Asia, national interest and security-related issues in addition to the economic vision. Indeed, the nature of foreign policy always should be dynamic rather than static; hence, the Indian foreign policy is being transformed continuously as per the requirement of the time.