Act East at Ten: India-ASEAN Relations and Regional Dynamics takes stock of one of the most consequential shifts in India’s foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. A decade after the transformation of the “Look East” approach into the more assertive “Act East Policy,” this volume examines how India’s engagement with Southeast Asia has evolved across political, strategic, economic, and socio-cultural domains. Set against the backdrop of an intensifying Indo-Pacific order, China’s growing regional assertiveness, and emerging security and technological challenges, the volume foregrounds ASEAN’s centrality in India’s eastern outreach and analyses the ways in which New Delhi has sought to translate strategic intent into concrete action.
Bringing together scholars and practitioners, the volume offers a multidimensional assessment of India-ASEAN relations through thematic sections on security and maritime cooperation, technology and digital transformation, trade and connectivity, and human security and socio-economic development. It engages directly with policy dilemmas, structural constraints, and future pathways for cooperation, from maritime stability in the South China Sea to semiconductor collaboration, cyber governance, and regional resilience. Emerging from an international conference marking ten years of the Act East Policy, this book provides both analytical depth and policy relevance, making it an indispensable resource for scholars, students, and practitioners seeking to understand India’s evolving role in Southeast Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific.
Edited by : Navya Syam, Komal Pooja, R S Vasan and N Manoharan
Navya Syam holds a Master’s degree in International Studies from Christ University, Bengaluru. She is a former Research Officer at the Chennai Centre for China Studies (C3S) and has interned at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), New Delhi. Her research areas include conflict and security studies and China’s global engagements, with a particular focus on China-Africa relations.
Komal Pooja Asokan holds double Master’s degrees in Political Science and International Relations, with academic training in Sociology. She is a Research Affiliate at the Centre for East Asian Studies. Her research interests include geopolitics, sustainable economics, Asian Studies, and environmental politics, with a focus on governance and regional dynamics.
Commodore Seshadri Vasan (Retd.) is a veteran naval officer with over 34 years of service in the Indian Navy and Coast Guard, including command of warships, air stations, and participation in the 1971 War and IPKF operations. A former Regional Commander of the Indian Coast Guard (East), he has also served as an instructor at the Naval War College. Post-retirement, he has held senior roles in leading think tanks and academic institutions and is currently Director General of the Chennai Centre for China Studies and Regional Director, National Maritime Foundation (Tamil Nadu). His research interests include the Indo-Pacific, maritime security, China studies, blue economy, and ocean governance.
Prof. Manoharan N earlier served at the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), PMO and Ministry of Defence, Government of India. He was a South Asia Fellow at the East-West Center, Washington and is a recipient of the Mahbub-ul Haq International Award for Research. His areas of interest include internal security, terrorism, Sri Lanka, Maldives, human rights, ethnic conflicts, multiculturalism, security sector reforms, Indo-Pacific and conflict resolution. He writes regularly for leading newspapers, websites and reputed peer-reviewed international journals.
Contents
Tables, Figures, Map and Boxes
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
N Manoharan
2. A Brief History of India-ASEAN Ties: The Act East Policy and Beyond
Nutan Kapoor Mahawar
3. Inclusivity, Sustainability and the Future of India-ASEAN Ties
Saravana Kumar Kumaravasagam
Navigating India-ASEAN Security Partnership Under the ‘Act East’ Policy
4. Maritime Security as the Pillar of India-ASEAN Engagement in the Indo-Pacific
Venugopal Menon
5. India’s Smart Power Projection in ASEAN: A Security Perspective
A V Chandrasekaran
India-ASEAN Partnership in Technology and Digital Transformation
6. India-ASEAN Collaboration in Cybersecurity, Data Privacy and Artificial Intelligence
A J Vijayakumar
7. India’s Act East Policy: Catalyzing the Semiconductor Industry Through Lessons from Southeast Asia
Arun Mampazhy
India-ASEAN Trade and Connectivity Underthe ‘Act East’ Policy
8. Opportunities for Building India-ASEAN Trade and Connectivity Cooperation Under the ‘Act East’ Policy
Gitanjali Sinha Roy
9. India-Malaysia Economic Relations: Opportunities Under ‘Act East’ Policy
Jaideep Singh
India-ASEAN Cooperation in Human Security and Socio-Economic Development
10. From Dreams to Dignity: An Approach to Human Security and Socio-Economic Fulfillment
Soja Johnson
11. A Decade of Act East Policy: Impact on India-ASEAN Relations and Regional Dynamics
Theja Shree Kannu Mohan
12. Towards a Resilient Indo-Pacific: The Role of India-ASEAN Economic Partnerships in Regional Stability
Avishka Ashok
13. Epilogue
R S Vasan
About the Contributors
Political Science
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