India’s Defence Diplomacy in Southeast Asia

With Southeast Asia, India has been enjoying the historical legacy of the strong influence of the Indic civilization and has been strengthening its linkages through strategic engagement, economic liberalization and Free Trade Agreement with the ASEAN countries. After 1992, India formulated its defence diplomacy in consonance with the ‘Look East’ policy to safeguard its eastern seaboard and secure its strategic interests in the Indian Ocean region. India’s defence diplomacy in Southeast Asia aims to accommodate concerns of its neighbours and wants to project its benign role in the region but, of late, the defence diplomacy has China containment strategy also. However, India needs a structured approach in its strategic planning and defence diplomacy while dealing with Southeast Asian countries.