ISAS Insights

ASEAN-India relations intensified when the Narasimha Rao government initiated India's Look East Policy in the early 1990's. Initially the engagement was mainly economic, but the Vajpayee government added a security dimension to it. The 2004 agreement on an ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity envisaged a multi-faceted co-operation programme, but the implementation of the Action Plan has not been fully satisfactory. For the ASEAN-India relations to be elevated to a higher level such as a strategic partnership, there should be new impetus which should come from (a) shared political and security interests, (b) increase in the economic stakes and inter-dependence, and (c) greater public understanding and awareness of the historical and cultural links between India and ASEAN.