With uncertainty looming, challenges and opportunities for India’s Act East policy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand is significant for India’s Act East Policy. India’s foreign policy witnessed a strategic shift when he declared at the 12th ASEAN-India Summit (2014): “Externally, India’s ‘Look East Policy’ has become ‘Act East Policy’.” The change, however, went beyond nomenclature, reflecting the new realpolitik underlying India’s approach to the east. The objective of the Act East Policy is to promote economic cooperation, strengthen cultural ties and develop strategic relationships with countries in the Indo-Pacific. The engagement was to be at both bilateral and multilateral levels. India has historical linkages…