Understanding India’s Act East Policy: A Strategic Shift from Look East

For decades after independence, India looked westward and northward, preoccupied with its immediate neighbourhood and the politics of the Cold War. The vast and rapidly growing economies to its east remained on the periphery of its strategic vision. That changed in the 1990s, and changed again in 2014. Today, engagement with East and Southeast Asia sits at the very centre of foreign policy, anchored by the Act East Policy. To understand why this shift matters, we need to trace the journey from a cautious “Look East” to a confident, action-oriented “Act East.”

From Look East to Act East: The historical backdrop
Why “Look” became “Act”
The pillars of the Act East Policy
Economic integration
Strategic and defence cooperation
The Indo-Pacific and the Quad
Connectivity and the Northeast as a gateway
Capacity building and cultural diplomacy
Challenges on the road ahead
Why it matters

From Look East to Act East: The historical backdrop

The story begins in 1991, a year of crisis and reinvention. India faced a severe balance-of-payments crisis, the Soviet Union-its long-standing strategic partner-was collapsing, and the Cold War order that had shaped its diplomacy for decades was dissolving. Out of this turbulence, Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao launched the Look East Policy in 1991, marking a strategic shift in how the country viewed the world.

The logic was both economic and geopolitical. India was opening up its economy, and the booming “Asian Tigers” and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) offered markets, capital, and technology. At the same time, deeper ties with Southeast Asia would help bolster India’s standing as a regional power and serve as a counterweight to the growing strategic influence of China.

Progress was steady but incremental. India became a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992, a full dialogue partner in 1996, and a summit-level partner in 2002. The relationship was upgraded to a Strategic Partnership in 2012, and a Free Trade Agreement in goods was signed in 2009. The first phase focused largely on trade and investment; a later phase, from around 2003, broadened the scope to include security cooperation, physical connectivity, and engagement with East Asian nations like Japan and South Korea.

Why “Look” became “Act”

By 2014, both the country and the world had transformed. When the Look East Policy was launched, the economy was still struggling to liberalise and the global profile was modest. Two decades later, the economy was far more robust and the global standing considerably higher. Critics, however, felt the Look East approach had become too reactive and lacked the depth needed for long-term cooperation across multiple sectors.

On 13 November 2014, at the ninth East Asia Summit in Nay Pyi Daw, Myanmar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally announced the Act East Policy as an upgrade to the Look East Policy. The change in wording was deliberate. It signalled a transition from passive intent to concrete action-from merely “looking” at the region to actively engaging with it. The policy also widened its geographical lens to embrace the broader Indo-Pacific and placed greater emphasis on strategic and security dimensions alongside economic ties.

The pillars of the Act East Policy

The Act East Policy is often summarised through the framework of the 4 C’s: Commerce, Culture, Connectivity, and Capacity Building. Together, these capture the policy’s ambition to engage the region across every dimension of statecraft. Broadly, it rests on a few interlocking objectives.

Economic integration

At its core, the policy seeks to deepen trade, investment, and integration with the global supply chains of East and Southeast Asia. The numbers tell a striking story. When the Look East Policy began in the early 1990s, trade with ASEAN stood at roughly USD 2 billion. By FY 2023-24, bilateral trade with ASEAN reached about USD 121 billion, with ASEAN accounting for around 11% of total global trade. ASEAN is now among the largest trading partners.

This economic engagement is not one-sided. It involves attracting investment from countries like Singapore, deepening technological collaboration with Malaysia, and building digital and health partnerships with Indonesia. A persistent challenge, however, has been the trade imbalance-imports from the region have often grown faster than exports, prompting ongoing discussions about reviewing the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement.

Strategic and defence cooperation

Security is a defining feature of the Act East Policy, and much of it is driven by concern over China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. Securing freedom of navigation and protecting maritime interests have become central goals.

This has translated into expanded defence partnerships. India conducts joint naval exercises such as SIMBEX with Singapore and the multilateral MILAN exercise, and it has deepened defence ties with Vietnam, which signed a defence protocol back in 2000. A landmark moment came with the BrahMos missile deal with the Philippines, marking a significant step in defence exports. Engagement in multilateral security forums-the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Regional Forum, and the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus-has further consolidated the diplomatic and strategic footprint in the region.

The Indo-Pacific and the Quad

The Act East Policy has increasingly served as what one analysis calls a “North Star” for engagement with the wider Indo-Pacific. The Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), launched in 2019, closely aligns with ASEAN’s Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), reflecting shared priorities in maritime security and sustainable development.

Equally significant is participation in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, alongside the United States, Japan, and Australia. Revived in 2017 and elevated to the leader level in 2021, the Quad has grown beyond security to cover critical technologies, infrastructure, vaccine delivery, and climate action.

Connectivity and the Northeast as a gateway

Perhaps the most tangible dimension of the Act East Policy is connectivity-and here the Northeastern Region (NER) takes centre stage. Historically marginalised and infrastructurally isolated, the Northeast has been reimagined as the land bridge linking the rest of the country to Southeast Asia.

Two flagship projects illustrate this ambition. The India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway, spanning roughly 1,360 kilometres, aims to create a seamless road link beginning at Moreh in Manipur, passing through Myanmar, and ending at Mae Sot in Thailand. The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, meanwhile, seeks to connect Kolkata by sea to Myanmar’s Sittwe port and then onward by river and road into Mizoram, giving the landlocked Northeast access to the sea.

Other initiatives include the Agartala-Akhaura rail link with Bangladesh, inland waterway arrangements, and the proposed Mekong-India Economic Corridor. Under the India-Japan Act East Forum, projects covering roads, bridges, and power have also been taken up in the Northeast.

Capacity building and cultural diplomacy

The fourth pillar uses India’s deep historical and civilisational ties with Southeast Asia-links that stretch back over a millennium through ancient Indianised kingdoms-as a bridge for soft power. This involves offering scholarships, including PhD fellowships at the IITs for ASEAN participants, promoting tourism to shared Buddhist heritage sites, and running grassroots development programmes. Quick Impact Projects in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam deliver small-scale, low-cost development assistance in fields like education, water, and health, positioning the country as a reliable development partner rather than a transactional one.

Challenges on the road ahead

For all its achievements, the Act East Policy faces serious obstacles, many of them concentrated precisely where the policy is most ambitious-on the ground in the Northeast and along its borders.

Geopolitical instability has been the biggest spoiler. The civil conflict in Myanmar since 2021 has disrupted the Kaladan project, while political instability in Bangladesh in 2024 has delayed the Agartala-Akhaura rail link and complicated access to Chittagong port. Domestic security concerns, including ethnic clashes and insurgencies in the Northeast, have stalled key projects and deterred investment. Underdeveloped road, rail, and air infrastructure within the region continues to limit its potential as a gateway.

Beyond these, the trade deficit with ASEAN, bureaucratic delays, and financing constraints all temper the policy’s momentum. The challenge for the coming decade is to convert strategic intent into completed projects and balanced economic relationships-to keep “acting” rather than slipping back into merely “looking.”

Why it matters

The significance of the Act East Policy is underscored by the sheer economic weight of the region it targets. East and Southeast Asia are among the most dynamic engines of global growth, and a credible presence there is essential for any nation aspiring to be a leading power in a multipolar Indo-Pacific. The policy has elevated global standing, transformed how the country engages with ASEAN, and turned a once-peripheral Northeast into a frontier of opportunity. Whether it fully delivers will depend on connectivity, consistency, and the ability to navigate a turbulent neighbourhood.

What do you think? Has the shift from “Look East” to “Act East” genuinely changed India’s role in the Indo-Pacific, or is it still more about intent than action? And given the instability in neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh, can connectivity projects truly turn the Northeast into a reliable gateway to Southeast Asia?

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Table of Contents

From Look East to Act East: The historical backdrop 🔗

Why “Look” became “Act” 🔗

The pillars of the Act East Policy 🔗

Economic integration 🔗

Strategic and defence cooperation 🔗

The Indo-Pacific and the Quad 🔗

Connectivity and the Northeast as a gateway 🔗

Capacity building and cultural diplomacy 🔗

Challenges on the road ahead 🔗

Why it matters 🔗