India’s Act East Policy and ASEAN Summit 2025

India’s Act East Policy and ASEAN Summit 2025

Analysis

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the ASEAN and East Asia Summits in Kuala Lumpur virtually instead of being physically present.
• The decision drew domestic criticism as ASEAN summits are among the most significant diplomatic platforms in the Indo-Pacific, attended by major global leaders.
• India’s virtual participation contrasted with strong in-person engagement by leaders from the United States, China, Japan, Australia, Brazil, and others.
• The absence weakened the optics of India’s commitment to ASEAN centrality and the Indo-Pacific at a time of renewed great-power competition.
• In-person summits traditionally enable informal diplomacy, side meetings, and strategic breakthroughs, which virtual participation cannot fully substitute.
• Modi’s absence was notable given India’s geographic proximity and direct land and maritime boundaries with several ASEAN states.
• It marked a departure from his earlier record of consistent attendance at ASEAN and East Asia Summits, except during pandemic years.
• The absence limited India’s ability to shape discussions on key economic issues, including the review of the ASEAN–India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA).
• With the U.S. and China intensifying diplomatic and economic engagement with ASEAN, India risked ceding strategic space in Southeast Asia.
• Overall, the episode suggested a possible drift in India’s “Act East” policy, weakening the transition from outreach to sustained action.

Necessary Static Part

• Act East Policy: India’s strategic initiative aimed at strengthening economic, political, and security ties with Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific.
• ASEAN: A regional bloc of 11 Southeast Asian nations, emerging as a major global economic and geopolitical centre.
• ASEAN–India Relations: Anchored in trade, connectivity, maritime security, and people-to-people ties, with ASEAN being a key partner in India’s Indo-Pacific vision.
• AITIGA: ASEAN–India Trade in Goods Agreement (2010), currently under review to address trade imbalances and enhance market access.

Updated – 04 Nov 2025 | News Source:

The Wire