{"id":3584,"date":"2026-08-11T22:12:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T16:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/notes\/india-s-look-east-policy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T02:57:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T21:27:03","slug":"india-s-look-east-policy","status":"publish","type":"psir_note","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/notes\/india-s-look-east-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s \u201cLook East\u201d policy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"n-wrap\">\n<div class=\"n-shell\">\n<div class=\"n-crumb\"><a href=\"\/psir\/psir-notes\/\">PSIR Notes<\/a><span class=\"sep\">\u203a<\/span><a href=\"\/psir\/psir-notes\/#ii-b\">II-B India and the World<\/a><span class=\"sep\">\u203a<\/span><span>India\u2019s \u201cLook East\u201d policy<\/span><\/div>\n<header class=\"n-head\">\n<div class=\"n-eyebrow\">Paper I \u00b7 India and the World<\/div>\n<h1 class=\"n-title\">India\u2019s \u201cLook East\u201d policy<\/h1>\n<div class=\"n-syl\"><b>Syllabus \u00b7 Paper II-B \u00b7 3<\/b> \u2014 India and South Asia : (a) Regional Co-operation : SAARC-past performance and future prospects. (b) South Asia as a Free Trade Area. (c) <span class=\"cur\">India\u2019s \u201cLook East\u201d policy<\/span>. (d) Impediments to regional co-operation : River water disputes; illegal cross border migration; Ethnic conflicts and insurgencies; Border disputes.<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"n-grid\">\n  <main class=\"n-body\"><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"origin-and-architecture\">Origin and Architecture<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>India\u2019s eastward orientation came to the fore in the early 1990s after the Cold War ended. The collapse of the USSR \u2014 an Indian ally \u2014 forced India to look for new partners and to reassess emerging power structures and its own place in them. The <span class=\"n-term\">Look East Policy<\/span> was formulated in <span class=\"n-term\">1991<\/span>.<\/li>\n<li>Since then: strong economic and commercial ties, investment possibilities, strategic alliances, and cultural and historical links with the eastern neighbours.<\/li>\n<li>The <span class=\"n-term\">India\u2013ASEAN<\/span> relationship and <span class=\"n-term\">BIMSTEC<\/span> are both motivated by the LEP. Originally aimed at Southeast and East Asia, the policy was reworked to include <span class=\"n-term\">Bangladesh<\/span> \u2014 energy, transport, security.<\/li>\n<li>Under <span class=\"n-term\">Act East<\/span>, India also looks to Southeast Asia and, through the <span class=\"n-term\">India\u2013Central Asia Dialogue<\/span>, westward to Central Asia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">The forums that let India engage its wider neighbourhood while marginalising Pakistan.<\/span> <span class=\"n-term\">1991<\/span> (Look East Policy formulated after the Soviet collapse) \u2192 <span class=\"n-term\">1997<\/span> (BIMSTEC \u00b7 Indian Ocean Rim Association) \u2192 <span class=\"n-term\">2000<\/span> (Mekong\u2013Ganga Cooperation) \u2192 <span class=\"n-term\">2015<\/span> (BBIN Transport Agreement) \u2192 <span class=\"n-term\">Act East<\/span> (Southeast Asia + India\u2013Central Asia Dialogue)<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">The strategic point<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The eastern orientation was one instrument of India\u2019s distancing from SAARC. Each new forum widened the circle of engagement while leaving Pakistan outside it.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"the-northeast-dimension\">The Northeast Dimension<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"n-term\">Bangladesh<\/span> is vital to India\u2019s communication with its own northeastern states \u2014 therefore the gateway to the eastward reorientation. India\u2019s development assistance and commercial engagement are driven by three considerations: access to energy supplies and commercial markets for a growing economy, domestic security, and India\u2019s rising importance as a regional and global power.<\/li>\n<li>Focus on re-linking the Northeast with Bangladesh by road, rail, water and air \u2014 which explains the rise in the expenditure budget of the <span class=\"n-term\">Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region<\/span>, from <span class=\"n-term\">\u20b9562.78 crore in 2014-15<\/span> to <span class=\"n-term\">\u20b92,657.87 crore in 2019-20<\/span>.<\/li>\n<li>The Northeast is the gateway to Southeast Asia. Linkages benefit Bangladesh too \u2014 markets for its jute, garment and leather industries, and development of its economically backward eastern districts. Bangladesh has expressed eagerness to partner in the <span class=\"n-term\">India\u2013Myanmar\u2013Thailand trilateral highway<\/span>.<\/li>\n<li>Strategically, the linkages bring India closer to Southeast Asia and raise its influence there. With the <span class=\"n-term\">QUAD<\/span> and the Indo-Pacific becoming the new theatre of world politics, the Bay of Bengal gains importance and Bangladesh becomes a key partner in India\u2019s Indo-Pacific strategy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote class=\"n-quote\">\n<p><em>Bangladesh is not only a key part of \u2018Neighbourhood First\u2019 but central to \u2018Act East\u2019: \u201cWe see Bangladesh as a key neighbour and a valued partner not only in South Asia but also in the broader Indo-Pacific region.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><cite>S. Jaishankar<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">Connectivity under Act East<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The <span class=\"n-term\">India\u2013Myanmar\u2013Thailand trilateral highway<\/span>; the <span class=\"n-term\">Kaladan Multimodal Corridor<\/span>; <span class=\"n-term\">Sittwe Port<\/span>; the <span class=\"n-term\">Feni bridge<\/span>; restored rail links; inland waterways between <span class=\"n-term\">Sonamura and Munshiganj<\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"n-pyq\"><span class=\"n-pyq-chip\">UPSC 2016 \u00b7 15m<\/span><span class=\"n-pyq-q\">What are the hopes and aspirations of \u2018Look East Policy\u2019 of India?<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"n-pyq\"><span class=\"n-pyq-chip\">UPSC 2018 \u00b7 10m<\/span><span class=\"n-pyq-q\">Analyse the significance of India\u2019s Look East Policy in the light of concerns of the indigenous peoples of North-east India.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"n-pyq\"><span class=\"n-pyq-chip\">UPSC 2021 \u00b7 10m<\/span><span class=\"n-pyq-q\">Discuss the strategic implications of India\u2019s \u2018Look East Policy\u2019 transforming into \u2018Act East Policy\u2019.<\/span><a class=\"n-pyq-a\" href=\"\/psir\/psir-pyq\/discuss-the-strategic-implications-of-indias-look-east-policy-upsc-psir-2021-4302\/\">Answer<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"n-pyq\"><span class=\"n-pyq-chip\">UPSC 2022 \u00b7 15m<\/span><span class=\"n-pyq-q\">What are the implications of \u2018Look-East\u2019 Policy on the north-eastern region of India?<\/span><a class=\"n-pyq-a\" href=\"\/psir\/psir-pyq\/what-are-the-implications-of-look-east-policy-on-the-north-upsc-psir-2022-4304\/\">Answer<\/a><\/div>\n<h3 id=\"from-asia-pacific-to-indo-pacific\">From Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific<\/h3>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">Geopolitical imagination<\/span><\/p>\n<p>A mental map in which there is no single way of framing the world \u2014 and power contests change this mental topography. \u201cAsia-Pacific\u201d and \u201cIndo-Pacific\u201d are two such constructs defining twenty-first century geopolitics; despite overlap and efforts to change the official vernacular, a tension remains between them.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">Two constructs, two centres of gravity<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"n-tw\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>ASIA-PACIFIC<\/th>\n<th>INDO-PACIFIC<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>1960s origin \u00b7 institutionalised through APEC in the 1980s \u00b7 excludes India \u00b7 ignores the Indian Ocean<\/td>\n<td>Japan-authored, with Australian and American support \u00b7 joins two oceans into one theatre \u00b7 brings India in<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Preferred by <span class=\"n-term\">Beijing<\/span> \u2014 it keeps China at the centre<\/td>\n<td>Dismissed by <span class=\"n-term\">Moscow<\/span> as an \u201cartificial construct\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"n-term\">Asia-Pacific<\/span> emerged in the 1960s and was institutionalised through the formation of <span class=\"n-term\">APEC<\/span> in the 1980s. Two shortcomings: it was not inclusive of important regional countries such as India, and it did not take into account the growing importance of the Indian Ocean for world maritime trade.<\/li>\n<li>It was <span class=\"n-term\">Japan<\/span> that saw the need to accommodate both shortcomings and, with support from Australia and the United States, championed the concept of the <span class=\"n-term\">Indo-Pacific<\/span>. Debate over the shape of the region is far from settled, and with that lies the promise of ongoing rivalry.<\/li>\n<li>The Indo-Pacific has emerged as the <span class=\"n-term\">geopolitical epicentre<\/span> of the twenty-first century, shaping global trade, security dynamics and normative contestations over regional order. It encompasses a vast maritime space stretching from the eastern coast of Africa to the western shores of the Americas, hosting nearly <span class=\"n-term\">60% of global GDP<\/span> and facilitating <span class=\"n-term\">two-thirds of global energy flows<\/span> and <span class=\"n-term\">over 90% of international trade by volume<\/span> (<span class=\"n-sch\">Brewster<\/span>, 2021). Its significance lies not only in economic centrality but in the intensifying rivalries that traverse it \u2014 between a rising China and a recalibrating United States, and in the strategic responses of middle powers such as Japan, Australia and, increasingly, India.<\/li>\n<li>The conceptual emergence of the Indo-Pacific as a unified construct represents a shift from the earlier Asia-Pacific paradigm, reflecting the <span class=\"n-term\">securitisation of the maritime commons<\/span> and the growing salience of the Indian Ocean in global power politics. The region houses <span class=\"n-term\">38 states<\/span>, about <span class=\"n-term\">62% of global GDP<\/span> and half of world trade.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-lab\">Authorship<\/span> \u2014 <span class=\"n-sch\">Shinzo Abe<\/span>\u2019s <span class=\"n-term\">\u201cconfluence of the two seas\u201d<\/span> and <span class=\"n-term\">\u201cbroader Asia\u201d<\/span> supplied the intellectual frame, drawing on Dara Shikoh. Chokepoints such as <span class=\"n-term\">Hormuz<\/span> and <span class=\"n-term\">Malacca<\/span> carry more than half of maritime oil trade.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-lab\">Strategic content<\/span> \u2014 joining the Pacific and Indian Oceans into a single theatre is what makes the <span class=\"n-term\">Quad<\/span>, <span class=\"n-term\">FOIP<\/span>, <span class=\"n-term\">IPEF<\/span> and the EU\u2019s Indo-Pacific Strategy coherent. <span class=\"n-term\">Indian stake<\/span> \u2014 it moves India out of the South Asia box and beyond South-East Asia, where the Look East policy had stopped, and supports the ambition of being net security provider. The change of vocabulary is a change of strategy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">India\u2019s response to the Indo-Pacific<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"n-lab\">Formulation<\/span> \u2014 given by PM Modi at <span class=\"n-term\">Shangri-La (June 2018)<\/span>, resting on \u201cinclusiveness, openness and ASEAN centrality and unity\u201d \u2014 deliberately not a containment framework.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-lab\">Institutional participation<\/span> \u2014 the Quad, upgraded to summit level; <span class=\"n-term\">IPEF<\/span>, where India joined the Overarching Agreement and Pillars 3 and 4 in 2024; the <span class=\"n-term\">Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative<\/span>, which the United States has joined; and the Indian Ocean Rim Association.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-lab\">Doctrinal instruments<\/span> \u2014 <span class=\"n-term\">Act East<\/span>, <span class=\"n-term\">SAGAR<\/span>, Project Mausam, and the \u201cnet security provider\u201d ambition.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-lab\">Bilateral architecture<\/span> \u2014 the 2015 Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean Region with the United States; the <span class=\"n-term\">Act East Forum<\/span> with Japan; the Joint Strategic Vision with France for the Indian Ocean Region (2018).<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-lab\">Maritime capability<\/span> \u2014 Malabar with Japan as a permanent participant since 2015, the Andaman and Nicobar build-up, and associate partnership in the Combined Maritime Forces from 2023.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-lab\">European dimension<\/span> \u2014 the EU\u2019s Indo-Pacific Strategy (2021) and the national strategies of France, Germany and the Netherlands have brought Europe back into Asian waters, which New Delhi now welcomes. India has accepted the geography, joined the institutions, and refused the alliance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"n-pyq\"><span class=\"n-pyq-chip\">UPSC 2024 \u00b7 10m<\/span><span class=\"n-pyq-q\">Discuss the rationale behind replacing the \u201cAsia-Pacific\u201d strategy with the new term \u201cIndo-Pacific\u201d strategy.<\/span><a class=\"n-pyq-a\" href=\"\/psir\/psir-pyq\/discuss-the-rationale-behind-replacing-the-asia-pacific-strategy-upsc-psir-2024-4509\/\">Answer<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"n-pyq\"><span class=\"n-pyq-chip\">UPSC 2019 \u00b7 10m<\/span><span class=\"n-pyq-q\">How is India responding to the idea of Indo-Pacific?<\/span><a class=\"n-pyq-a\" href=\"\/psir\/psir-pyq\/how-is-india-responding-to-the-idea-of-indo-pacific-upsc-psir-2019-4504\/\">Answer<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"n-next\"><a href=\"\/psir\/notes\/south-asia-as-a-free-trade-area\/\"><em>Previous<\/em><b>South Asia as a Free Trade Area<\/b><\/a><a class=\"r\" href=\"\/psir\/notes\/river-water-disputes\/\"><em>Next<\/em><b>River water disputes<\/b><\/a><\/div>\n<p><\/main><\/p>\n<aside class=\"n-rail\">\n<h4>On this page<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"#origin-and-architecture\">Origin and Architecture<\/a><a href=\"#the-northeast-dimension\">The Northeast Dimension<\/a><a href=\"#from-asia-pacific-to-indo-pacific\">From Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific<\/a><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India\u2019s \u201cLook East\u201d policy for the UPSC PSIR optional \u2014 PSIR Notes \u203a II-B India and the World \u203a India\u2019s \u201cLook East\u201d policy Paper I \u00b7 India and the World India\u2019s \u201cLook East\u201d policy <\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"fx_note_key":"II-B.3.4","fx_note_sec":"II-B","fx_note_point":"3","fx_note_desc":"India\u2019s \u201cLook East\u201d policy for the UPSC PSIR optional \u2014 PSIR Notes \u203a II-B India and the World \u203a India\u2019s \u201cLook East\u201d policy Paper I \u00b7 India and the World India\u2019s \u201cLook East\u201d policy ","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3584","psir_note","type-psir_note","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_note\/3584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_note"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/psir_note"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_note\/3584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3797,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_note\/3584\/revisions\/3797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}