| Summary/Abstract |
India’s relations with Southeast Asia is one of the promising relations in Asia and that of the 21st century. The relationship is endowed with strong civilizational and cultural links of the past to that of its strategic links in the present-being global economic players, Asian regional giants and most importantly, partners with varied commonality of interests ranging from trade to that of security- both traditional and non-traditional concerns. The end of the Cold War brought about structural changes in the international system that led India to adopt new orientations in its foreign policy. Under this shift, India adopted ‘Look East’ policy in 1992 which resulted into a strategic shift in India’s perspective- bringing Southeast Asia closer to its foreign policy orbit. But with the changes in the global politics as a result of ‘China’s rise’, this relationship too is having a causal effect on its geo-political and security landscape. This ‘China factor’ has thereby elevated the paradigm of India-ASEAN relations to that of a ‘Strategic Partnership’ from being ‘Dialogue Partners’.
It is in this context that the paper examines India’s relations with ASEAN under the strategic interests and concerns. It explores the pertinent aspects that influence the India-ASEAN relations and thereby, argues that India’s policy towards ASEAN has witnessed a shift from just ‘looking towards east’ to that of ‘engaging with the east’.
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