• Home
  • About RSIS
    • Introduction
    • Building the Foundations
    • Welcome Message
    • Board of Governors
    • Staff Profiles
      • Executive Deputy Chairman’s Office
      • Dean’s Office
      • Management
      • Distinguished Fellows
      • Faculty and Research
      • Associate Research Fellows, Senior Analysts and Research Analysts
      • Visiting Fellows
      • Adjunct Fellows
      • Administrative Staff
    • Honours and Awards for RSIS Staff and Students
    • RSIS Endowment Fund
    • Endowed Professorships
    • Career Opportunities
    • Getting to RSIS
  • Research
    • Research Centres
      • Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS)
      • Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre)
      • Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS)
      • Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)
      • International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
    • Research Programmes
      • National Security Studies Programme (NSSP)
      • Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme
    • [email protected] Newsletter
    • Other Research
      • Future Issues And Technology (FIT)
      • Science and Technology Studies Programme (STSP) (2017-2020)
  • Graduate Education
    • Graduate Programmes Office
    • Overview
    • MSc (Asian Studies)
    • MSc (International Political Economy)
    • MSc (International Relations)
    • MSc (Strategic Studies)
    • NTU-Warwick Double Masters Programme
    • PhD Programme
    • Exchange Partners and Programmes
    • How to Apply
    • Financial Assistance
    • Meet the Admissions Team: Information Sessions and other events
    • RSIS Alumni
  • Alumni & Networks
    • Alumni
    • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO)
    • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior National Security Officers (APPSNO)
    • SRP Executive Programme
    • Terrorism Analyst Training Course (TATC)
  • Publications
    • RSIS Publications
      • Annual Reviews
      • Books
      • Bulletins and Newsletters
      • Commentaries
      • Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
      • Commemorative / Event Reports
      • IDSS Paper
      • Interreligious Relations
      • Monographs
      • NTS Insight
      • Policy Reports
      • Working Papers
      • RSIS Publications for the Year
    • Glossary of Abbreviations
    • External Publications
      • Authored Books
      • Journal Articles
      • Edited Books
      • Chapters in Edited Books
      • Policy Reports
      • Working Papers
      • Op-Eds
      • External Publications for the Year
    • Policy-relevant Articles Given RSIS Award
  • Media
    • Great Powers
    • Sustainable Security
    • Other Resource Pages
    • Media Highlights
    • News Releases
    • Speeches
    • Vidcast Channel
    • Audio/Video Forums
  • Events
  • Giving
  • Contact Us
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
RSISVideoCast RSISVideoCast rsis.sg
Linkedin
instagram instagram rsis.sg
RSS
  • Home
  • About RSIS
      • Introduction
      • Building the Foundations
      • Welcome Message
      • Board of Governors
      • Staff Profiles
        • Executive Deputy Chairman’s Office
        • Dean’s Office
        • Management
        • Distinguished Fellows
        • Faculty and Research
        • Associate Research Fellows, Senior Analysts and Research Analysts
        • Visiting Fellows
        • Adjunct Fellows
        • Administrative Staff
      • Honours and Awards for RSIS Staff and Students
      • RSIS Endowment Fund
      • Endowed Professorships
      • Career Opportunities
      • Getting to RSIS
  • Research
      • Research Centres
        • Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS)
        • Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre)
        • Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS)
        • Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)
        • International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
      • Research Programmes
        • National Security Studies Programme (NSSP)
        • Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme
      • [email protected] Newsletter
      • Other Research
        • Future Issues And Technology (FIT)
        • Science and Technology Studies Programme (STSP) (2017-2020)
  • Graduate Education
      • Graduate Programmes Office
      • Overview
      • MSc (Asian Studies)
      • MSc (International Political Economy)
      • MSc (International Relations)
      • MSc (Strategic Studies)
      • NTU-Warwick Double Masters Programme
      • PhD Programme
      • Exchange Partners and Programmes
      • How to Apply
      • Financial Assistance
      • Meet the Admissions Team: Information Sessions and other events
      • RSIS Alumni
  • Alumni & Networks
      • Alumni
      • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO)
      • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior National Security Officers (APPSNO)
      • SRP Executive Programme
      • Terrorism Analyst Training Course (TATC)
  • Publications
      • RSIS Publications
        • Annual Reviews
        • Books
        • Bulletins and Newsletters
        • Commentaries
        • Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
        • Commemorative / Event Reports
        • IDSS Paper
        • Interreligious Relations
        • Monographs
        • NTS Insight
        • Policy Reports
        • Working Papers
        • RSIS Publications for the Year
      • Glossary of Abbreviations
      • External Publications
        • Authored Books
        • Journal Articles
        • Edited Books
        • Chapters in Edited Books
        • Policy Reports
        • Working Papers
        • Op-Eds
        • External Publications for the Year
      • Policy-relevant Articles Given RSIS Award
  • Media
      • Great Powers
      • Sustainable Security
      • Other Resource Pages
      • Media Highlights
      • News Releases
      • Speeches
      • Vidcast Channel
      • Audio/Video Forums
  • Events
  • Giving
  • Contact Us
  • instagram instagram rsis.sg
Connect

Getting to RSIS

Map

Address

Nanyang Technological University
Block S4, Level B3,
50 Nanyang Avenue,
Singapore 639798

View location on Google maps Click here for directions to RSIS

Get in Touch

    Connect with Us

      rsis.ntu
      rsis_ntu
      rsisntu
    RSISVideoCast RSISVideoCast rsisvideocast
      school/rsis-ntu
    instagram instagram rsis.sg
      RSS
    Subscribe to RSIS Publications
    Subscribe to RSIS Events

    RSIS Intranet

    S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Think Tank and Graduate School Ponder The Improbable Since 1966
    Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Technological University

    Skip to content

     
    • RSIS
    • Publication
    • RSIS Publications
    • The Nautical Dimension of India’s “Act East” Policy
    • Annual Reviews
    • Books
    • Bulletins and Newsletters
    • Commentaries
    • Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
    • Commemorative / Event Reports
    • IDSS Paper
    • Interreligious Relations
    • Monographs
    • NTS Insight
    • Policy Reports
    • Working Papers
    • RSIS Publications for the Year

    The Nautical Dimension of India’s “Act East” Policy
    Abhijit Singh

    09 April 2018

    download pdf

    Introduction

    Over the past two decades, India’s Look East Policy (LEP) has served as New Delhi’s principal foreign policy instrument in the Asia Pacific region. Originally conceived as a strategy for closer economic relations with Southeast Asia, the policy has deepened India’s political and institutional linkages in the Asia Pacific, burnishing its credentials as a dominant engine of regional growth. In November 2014, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi rechristened the LEP as the Act East Policy (AEP), many saw it as a defining moment in India’s Asia policy.

    As a political strategy, the AEP attempts to inject vigour into India’s regional diplomacy, emphasising New Delhi’s desire for closer economic and security relations with its Asian neighbours. While the Modi government continues to prioritise political ties within the South Asian neighbourhood, the AEP signals a more action-oriented policy towards the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In seeking closer political interaction with its eastern partners, New Delhi has expanded the scope of its economic, security, and connectivity endeavours across a wide arc in the Pacific littorals, including Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the Pacific Island states.

    A key component of the AEP has been India’s maritime engagement in the Asia Pacific. Through regular ship visits, naval exercises, and maritime capacity building programmes with partner navies, the Indian Navy has striven to lift New Delhi’s geopolitical profile in Southeast and East Asia. Regular warship deployments in the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea have stressed the nautical dimension of Prime Minister Modi’s “neighbourhood-first” policy, even as high-end bilateral and multilateral naval exercises in the East Asian littorals have exemplified India’s maritime outreach in the Asia Pacific region.

    Categories: Policy Reports / Conflict and Stability / Country and Region Studies / International Politics and Security / Maritime Security / South Asia

    Last updated on 09/04/2018

    Introduction

    Over the past two decades, India’s Look East Policy (LEP) has served as New Delhi’s principal foreign policy instrument in the Asia Pacific region. Originally conceived as a strategy for closer economic relations with Southeast Asia, the policy has deepened India’s political and institutional linkages in the Asia Pacific, burnishing its credentials as a dominant engine of regional growth. In November 2014, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi rechristened the LEP as the Act East Policy (AEP), many saw it as a defining moment in India’s Asia policy.

    As a political strategy, the AEP attempts to inject vigour into India’s regional diplomacy, emphasising New Delhi’s desire for closer economic and security relations with its Asian neighbours. While the Modi government continues to prioritise political ties within the South Asian neighbourhood, the AEP signals a more action-oriented policy towards the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In seeking closer political interaction with its eastern partners, New Delhi has expanded the scope of its economic, security, and connectivity endeavours across a wide arc in the Pacific littorals, including Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the Pacific Island states.

    A key component of the AEP has been India’s maritime engagement in the Asia Pacific. Through regular ship visits, naval exercises, and maritime capacity building programmes with partner navies, the Indian Navy has striven to lift New Delhi’s geopolitical profile in Southeast and East Asia. Regular warship deployments in the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea have stressed the nautical dimension of Prime Minister Modi’s “neighbourhood-first” policy, even as high-end bilateral and multilateral naval exercises in the East Asian littorals have exemplified India’s maritime outreach in the Asia Pacific region.

    Categories: Policy Reports / Conflict and Stability / Country and Region Studies / International Politics and Security / Maritime Security

    Last updated on 09/04/2018

    Back to top

    Terms of Use | Privacy Statement
    Copyright © S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. All rights reserved.
    This site uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience. By continuing, you are agreeing to the use of cookies on your device as described in our privacy policy. Learn more
    OK
    Latest Book
    The Nautical Dimension of India’s “Act East” Policy

    Introduction

    Over the past two decades, India’s Look East Policy (LEP) has served as New Delhi’s principal foreign policy instrument in the Asia Pacific region. ...
    more info