Act East policy

Initiated in 1991 as the Look East policy during the government of Prime Minister Narsimha Rao (1991–1996), it marked a strategic shift in India’s perspective of the world.

China became the closest partner and supporter of the military junta of Burma, which had been ostracised from the international community following the violent suppression of pro-democracy activities in 1988.

[13] India has also increased its competition with China over the harnessing of Burma's significant oil and natural gas reserves, seeking to establish a major and stable source of energy for its growing domestic needs, countering Chinese monopoly over Burmese resources and reducing dependence on oil-rich Middle Eastern nations.

[13] Meanwhile China has won contracts harnessing more than 2.88–3.56 trillion cubits of natural gas in the A-1 Shwe field in the Rakhine State and has developed naval and surveillance installations along Burma's coast and the Coco Islands.

India has stepped up engagement with East Asia fueled by its need for cooperation on counter-terrorism, humanitarian relief, anti-piracy, maritime and energy security, confidence-building and balancing the influence of other powers, notably China.

Driven by the fact that more than 50% of India's trade passes through the Malacca Strait, the Indian navy has established a Far Eastern Naval Command off Port Blair on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Japan and India were also members of the tsunami relief regional core group in the Indian Ocean in 2004 along with Australia and the United States of America.

[17] On 21 November 2006 Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Chinese President Hu Jintao issued a 10-point joint declaration to improve ties and resolve long-standing conflicts.

A People's Daily editorial opined that the Look East policy was "born out of [the] failure" of India's trying to play the Soviet Union and the United States against each other for its own benefit during the Cold War, and that trying to do the same with China and Japan by strengthening its ties with the latter would also fail.

Discussions are also proceeding on reopening the World War II-era Stilwell Road linking India's Assam state with China's Yunnan province through Myanmar.

While the Look East Policy aimed to build allies beyond the Soviet Union, it overlooked alliances with smaller border nations, such as Myanmar and Bangladesh.

[30][31] These Look East Policy alterations improved strategic partnerships with the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam to counter Chinese dominance in both the South China Sea and Indian Ocean.