<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//NLM//DTD JATS (Z39.96) Journal Publishing DTD v1.2d1 20170631//EN" "JATS-journalpublishing1.dtd"> <ArticleSet> <Article> <Journal> <PublisherName>ejsss</PublisherName> <JournalTitle>ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES</JournalTitle> <PISSN/> <EISSN/> <Volume-Issue>Volume 3 Issue 2</Volume-Issue> <PartNumber/> <IssueTopic>Multidisciplinary</IssueTopic> <IssueLanguage>English</IssueLanguage> <Season>August-September 2022</Season> <SpecialIssue>N</SpecialIssue> <SupplementaryIssue>N</SupplementaryIssue> <IssueOA>Y</IssueOA> <PubDate> <Year>2022</Year> <Month>09</Month> <Day>30</Day> </PubDate> <ArticleType>International Relations</ArticleType> <ArticleTitle>India__ampersandsign#39;s Act East Policy: Engagement with ASEAN</ArticleTitle> <SubTitle/> <ArticleLanguage>English</ArticleLanguage> <ArticleOA>Y</ArticleOA> <FirstPage>176</FirstPage> <LastPage>198</LastPage> <AuthorList> <Author> <FirstName>Masotwung</FirstName> <LastName>Ngalung</LastName> <AuthorLanguage>English</AuthorLanguage> <Affiliation/> <CorrespondingAuthor>N</CorrespondingAuthor> <ORCID/> </Author> </AuthorList> <DOI>10.47362/EJSSS.2022.3204</DOI> <Abstract>Abstract Over the years, India has interacted extensively with Southeast Asia nations. This contact began with trade but rapidly extended to other areas. Indian art, culture, and religion have significantly impacted many countries. The changes in the global political and economic environment in the early 1990s and India__ampersandsign#39;s march toward economic liberalisation have strengthened the multifaceted partnership between India and ASEAN. Since 1991, the ‘Look East’ policy (LEP) has played a significant role in India__ampersandsign#39;s foreign policy. Though LEP was initially intended only as an economic policy, it has broadened to include political, strategic, and cultural dimensions, developing into an active, result-driven ‘Act East’ policy. The India-ASEAN partnership has upgraded to Strategic Partnership in 2012, which was previously ASEAN Sectoral Partner since 1992, a Dialogue Partner since 1996, and a Summit Level Partner since 2002. There are 30 dialogue mechanisms between India and ASEAN, encompassing various aspects. India will remain critical to engaging with ASEAN for ‘Act East’ and the ambition for the ‘Indo-Pacific’ geopolitical construct. This paper analyses the Act East policy__ampersandsign#39;s objective and highlights India-ASEAN relations during the Look East period and how it has transcended into Act East policy. The methodology employed in this paper is qualitative, using a descriptive and analytical method that draws on secondary data and publicly available government documents.</Abstract> <AbstractLanguage>English</AbstractLanguage> <Keywords>Act East policy, China, India-ASEAN Relations, Look East policy, Southeast Asia.</Keywords> <URLs> <Abstract>https://ejsss.net.in/ubijournal-v1copy/journals/abstract.php?article_id=14119&title=India__ampersandsign#39;s Act East Policy: Engagement with ASEAN</Abstract> </URLs> <References> <ReferencesarticleTitle>References</ReferencesarticleTitle> <ReferencesfirstPage>16</ReferencesfirstPage> <ReferenceslastPage>19</ReferenceslastPage> <References>Arora, R. U., and; Ratnasiri, S. (2015). Recent growth experiences of Asian tigers: Where does India stand? International Journal of Social Economics, 42(2), 143–162. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-09-2013-0202 ASEAN. (2012a). 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