ISAS Working Papers

New Delhi’s relationship with East Asia has come a long way from the early 1990s, when India launched its ‘Look East’ policy. While it continues to see the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as the core of East Asia, India’s interests have broadened to include the Western Pacific as a whole. Although India’s economic ties with East Asia have yet to acquire the depth of China, the expectations of India’s superior economic performance and the prospect that it will emerge as one of the world’s four largest economies has created a sound basis for India’s relations with Pacific Asia. With faster economic growth, India’s military and strategic capabilities are becoming more consequential for East Asia. By embarking on a purposeful ‘big power’ diplomacy with the United States, China and Japan, building security partnerships with key regional actors and pursuing a vigorous maritime diplomacy, India is emerging as an important factor in the balance of power in Pacific Asia.