Act East Policy
- India’s Act East strategy seeks to establish solid geopolitical and economic ties with countries in Southeast Asia. It is the successor to the Look East strategy and aims to increase India’s ties to East Asia. Strengthening infrastructure connections, luring foreign direct investment, and fostering regional growth in northeastern India continue to be among India’s primary Act East objectives.
The results of Act East Policy are as follows:
- The relationship between India and ASEAN has improved and grown. India is currently ASEAN’s fourth-largest trading partner. Southeast Asian countries want more Indian participation to counterbalance China’s expansionist objectives in the region. At the ASEAN-India meeting, India made a $1 billion commitment to enhancing connectivity.
- Along with developing solid bilateral ties with nations like Bangladesh, Mauritius, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Vietnam, among others, India is actively pursuing a variety of sub-regional projects and programmes, such as the BBIN and the Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway.
- The Northeast is the primary region of interest for the Act East Policy. Japan has recently expressed interest in making investments in the Northeast. The Japanese government has given more than Rs 13,000 crore to new and ongoing projects in the states of northeastern India.
- Engagement in Security: East Asian nations are collaborating more closely on defence. Thanks to an MOU between India and Vietnam inked in 2014, Vietnam now has access to an Indian credit line. India and ASEAN nations have been working together on military drills and maritime law enforcement operations since 2015.
Numerous problems:
- China’s influence: It is obvious that India faces a geopolitical threat as a result of China’s expanding dominance over Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean region. Act East Policy hasn’t done much to lessen China’s influence in the region.
- Trade imbalance with ASEAN: Over the previous year, India’s overall trade deficit with ASEAN expanded from roughly 7% to 12%. With the exception of Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and the Philippines, all 15 RCEP nations have trade deficits with India. 60% of the overall deficit is attributable to China.
- Act East Policy’s inability to persuade other nations to support its attempts to resolve the RCEP’s problems that worried India was a major factor in the agreement’s failure. Due to the failure of lengthy negotiations regarding the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, India became the lone exception and withdrew from the regional trade deal (RCEP).
- The Act East plan is essential to the Indian economy. India needs to be more sincere about cooperation. India must cooperate with East Asian and Southeast Asian nations in a variety of areas, including as politics, trade, and culture, in order to properly integrate into the Asia-Pacific economy. India must take the lead in implementing the reforms required to preserve the status quo. Only collaboration can lead to a win-win outcome.
