REASSESSING INDIA’S LOOK EAST POLICY: INSURGENCY, STRATEGIC ENGAGEMENT AND REGIONAL SECURITY

Abstract [English]

Ever since India initiated its Look East Policy in the early 1990s, the concern to engage with Southeast Asia had significantly increased. The end of cold war and globalization were the twin factors that informed the Indian policy makers to look eastward. India’s policy shift towards Southeast Asia is guided by political, economic, strategic and security interests. Politically, India had to re-define her neighbourhood in search for an alliance after the disintegration of Soviet Union. From economic point of view, ASEAN can serve as a springboard for India’s integration with the world economy. Strategically, it is imperative to counter Chinese strategic expansion in Southeast Asia. From security angle, there is a need to secure the sea lanes in order to ensure smooth passage of Indian commercial ships as well as to subdue armed insurgents in the Northeast. The Look East Policy is the outcome of the inter-play of these factors. Nonetheless, it was the failure of India’s Look West Policy that proved decisive for the strategic shift in India’s foreign policy. Moreover, the Look East Policy represents the crystallization of India’s external response to the pressure piled up by global capital while internally India adopted economic liberalization to cope with its financial crises.