GS Paper 2 12.5 marks · 200w 14 min Medium
Evaluate the economic and strategic dimensions of India’s Look East Policy in the context of the post Cold War international scenario.
Subtopic: International Relations · Look East / Act East Policy
How to structure your answer
Introduction: post-Cold War genesis in 1992 → Economic dimension: ASEAN institutional ladder, FTA, sub-regional links → Strategic dimension: ARF/EAS membership, naval engagement, balancing China → Evolution into Act East and remaining gaps → Conclusion
Written within the word limit
218 words · target 200 words · 14 min
Launched in 1992 under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, the Look East Policy responded to the post-Cold War moment — the Soviet collapse, the 1991 balance-of-payments crisis and the dynamism of East Asian economies — by reorienting India towards Southeast and East Asia.
Economic dimension
- An institutional ladder with ASEAN: sectoral dialogue partner (1992), full dialogue partner (1996), summit-level partner (2002); the ASEAN–India FTA in goods (2010) and in services and investment (2014).
- ASEAN is among India's largest trading partners, with two-way trade above USD 120 billion; Singapore is a leading source of FDI into India.
- Sub-regional platforms — BIMSTEC (1997) and the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (2000) — and the Northeast as a land bridge through the Kaladan Multi-Modal project and the India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway.
Strategic dimension
- Membership of the ASEAN Regional Forum (1996), the East Asia Summit (2005) and ADMM-Plus embedded India in the regional security architecture.
- Naval engagement — SIMBEX with Singapore, the MILAN exercises, coordinated patrols near the Malacca Strait — secures sea lanes and balances China's rise.
- Growing defence ties with Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, including the BrahMos export, extend deterrence diplomacy.
The policy matured into the Act East Policy (2014), adding pace and a wider Indo-Pacific horizon through the Quad and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative. A widening trade deficit with ASEAN, the 2019 RCEP opt-out and delayed connectivity projects temper the record, yet Look East remains post-Cold War India's most consequential geo-economic reorientation.
What an examiner expects to see
- Genesis: the Soviet collapse, the 1991 BoP crisis and East Asian dynamism drove the 1992 reorientation under Narasimha Rao.
- Economic ladder with ASEAN: sectoral partner 1992, full dialogue partner 1996, summit level 2002; AIFTA in goods (2010) and services/investment (2014).
- Two-way trade with ASEAN exceeds USD 120 billion, with Singapore a top FDI source, but a widening trade deficit and the 2019 RCEP opt-out qualify the gains.
- Sub-regional and connectivity tracks: BIMSTEC (1997), Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (2000), Kaladan Multi-Modal project and the Trilateral Highway — both flagship projects delayed.
- Strategic integration: ARF (1996), East Asia Summit (2005), ADMM-Plus; SIMBEX and MILAN exercises and Malacca-area patrols secure sea lanes and balance China.
- Act East (2014) added speed and an Indo-Pacific horizon — Quad, Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, BrahMos export to the Philippines.
Concrete cases, schemes and judgments
- ASEAN-India FTA in goods (2010) and services and investment (2014)
- SIMBEX, India's longest-running bilateral naval exercise, with Singapore
- Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project and the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway
- East Asia Summit membership since its 2005 founding
- BrahMos missile export agreement with the Philippines (2022)
Terminology to weave into the answer
Look East PolicyAct East PolicyASEANIndo-Pacificsea lines of communicationconnectivity