The Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) organised a discussion on Ambassador Gurjit Singh’s latest book, The Durian Flavour: India and ASEAN After a Decade of the Act East Policy, Rupa Publications, 2026 on 30 June 2026. The discussion brought together MP-IDSA scholars to reflect on the evolution of India’s engagement with Southeast Asia over the past decade under the Act East Policy and to deliberate on the emerging strategic, economic and geopolitical dynamics shaping India-ASEAN relations. The discussion was chaired by Ambassador Sujan R. Chinoy, Director General, MP-IDSA. Dr. Om Prakash Das, Research Fellow, MP-IDSA, was the Internal Discussant.

Executive Summary

The discussion on The Durian Flavour: India and ASEAN After a Decade of the Act East Policy examined the evolution, achievements and limitations of India’s Act East Policy, highlighting the growing strategic importance of ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific and the need to strengthen connectivity, defence cooperation and regional partnerships. It also underscored that sustaining ASEAN centrality and advancing a rules-based, inclusive Indo-Pacific will require deeper India-ASEAN engagement, faster implementation of key initiatives and greater strategic convergence amidst intensifying great-power competition.

Detailed Report

Amb. Sujan R. Chinoy gave a brief introduction about the book during his Opening Remarks and emphasised the innovative title of the book by highlighting the Durian fruit dichotomy and also focused on how the book rightly explains the transformation from India’s Look-East Policy to the Act-East Policy.

Opening the discussion, Ambassador Gurjit Singh provided an overview of the central arguments presented in his book. He explained that the title, The Durian Flavour, symbolises the complex yet rewarding nature of India’s engagement with ASEAN. Much like the tropical fruit, whose distinctive characteristics often evoke mixed reactions, India-ASEAN relations have evolved through phases of adaptation and eventual appreciation. He argued that while the Act East Policy has significantly expanded India’s engagement with Southeast Asia since its launch in 2014, the relationship has reached a stage where both sides need to move beyond symbolism towards more substantive and result-oriented cooperation.

Ambassador Singh observed that the transformation from the earlier Look East Policy to the Act East Policy reflected India’s recognition of Southeast Asia’s growing strategic importance within the wider Indo-Pacific and also gave insights into the time when he was serving as Ambassador. He noted that over the last decade, India has broadened cooperation with ASEAN across political, economic, security, connectivity, digital, maritime and people-to-people domains. At the same time, he cautioned that expectations have risen on both sides, making it necessary to assess whether existing institutional mechanisms and policy instruments are sufficient to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving regional order.

Amb. Gurjit Singh also discussed ASEAN’s enduring centrality in the Indo-Pacific architecture. Ambassador Singh argued that despite intensifying strategic competition among major powers, ASEAN continues to provide an indispensable platform for regional dialogue and confidence-building and that it was in 2018 when Indonesia formed the ‘ASEAN outlook on the Indo-Pacific’ (AOIP).  He emphasised that India’s Indo-Pacific vision remains firmly anchored in ASEAN centrality and the principles of inclusivity, openness and adherence to international law. However, he suggested that maintaining ASEAN centrality would require greater unity within the organisation as well as stronger partnerships with countries such as India that support a rules-based regional order.

Reflecting on the achievements of the Act East Policy, Ambassador Singh highlighted progress in maritime cooperation, defence engagement, digital connectivity, infrastructure development and educational exchanges. He pointed to growing defence interactions, naval exercises and capacity-building initiatives as indicators of increasing strategic convergence between India and ASEAN member states. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that several connectivity projects have progressed more slowly than anticipated and emphasised the need to expedite their implementation to strengthen India’s economic integration with Southeast Asia.

The strategic implications of an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific also formed an important component of the discussion. Ambassador Singh noted that geopolitical competition has created both opportunities and challenges for India and ASEAN. While strategic competition has increased the importance of regional partnerships, it has also complicated the diplomatic environment in which ASEAN operates. He argued that India should continue to pursue an independent and inclusive regional approach that complements ASEAN’s own efforts to preserve strategic autonomy while promoting regional stability. Amb. Singh also emphasised that it is important to keep engaging ASEAN and also focus on fostering more trilateral frameworks involving ASEAN and other like-minded countries.

Dr. Om Prakash Das, Internal Discussant, commended the book for providing a comprehensive assessment of India’s engagement with ASEAN during a transformative period in regional geopolitics and pointed out how Amb. Gurjit Singh has given on-the-ground experiences of his time as an Ambassador in the book. He noted that the book effectively combines diplomatic experience with strategic analysis, making it valuable for policymakers, scholars and students alike. Dr. Das observed that the work highlights both the achievements and limitations of the Act East Policy, encouraging readers to critically evaluate India’s progress beyond official narratives. Dr. Das further emphasised that the book contributes to understanding the changing nature of ASEAN amid intensifying great-power competition and the emergence of the Indo-Pacific as the principal strategic theatre.

Chairing the discussion, Ambassador Sujan R. Chinoy appreciated Ambassador Gurjit Singh’s extensive diplomatic experience, which lends both credibility and practical insight to the book. He observed that India’s engagement with ASEAN has acquired increasing strategic significance in light of evolving regional security dynamics and the growing salience of the Indo-Pacific. Ambassador Chinoy further underlined that India’s partnership with ASEAN extends beyond conventional diplomacy and increasingly encompasses defence cooperation, maritime security, resilient supply chains, emerging technologies and sustainable development.

The interactive session that followed witnessed an exchange of views and questions between the author and scholars.  Questions related to ASEAN’s future role in the Indo-Pacific, India’s connectivity initiatives, and the potential of trilateral frameworks amidst great-power competition in the Indo-Pacific.

The report has been  prepared by Ms. Simran Walia, Research Analyst, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA).