ARTICLES

8 Oct 2025

India’s Rising Profile in Southeast Asia and the Test of Strategic Relevance

Joanne Lin

Joanne Lin examines why improved perceptions of India in Southeast Asia remain fragile, and what it will take to turn momentum into meaningful cooperation.

4 Sep 2025

The Mango Flavour: India and ASEAN After a Decade of the Act East Policy

Gurjit Singh

ASEANFocus+ is delighted to feature Ambassador Gurjit Singh, author of The Mango Flavour: India and ASEAN After a Decade of the Act East Policy (ISEAS Publishing, 2025). Drawing on his decades of experience as a diplomat, Ambassador Singh reflects on ten years of India's Act East Policy and assesses whether it has fulfilled its goal of deepening engagement with Southeast Asia.

ASEAN ASEAN-India Relations ASEANFocus India

6 Dec 2024

The Importance of Being Earnest: Strengthening ASEAN-India Relations in an Evolving World

Yanitha Meena Louis

Yanitha Meena Louis argues that for the ASEAN-India relationship to reach its full potential, it must move beyond surface-level engagement and delve deeper into strategic issues that reflect the dynamic roles of both parties in a constantly evolving world.

ASEAN ASEAN-India Relations ASEANFocus India

28 Jun 2024

Implications of India’s 2024 Election Outcomes for ASEAN

Karthik Nachiappan

Karthik Nachiappan analyses the recent election outcomes in India, their significance for India’s foreign policy, and implications for India’s future engagements with ASEAN.

ASEAN ASEAN-India Relations ASEANFocus India

19 Jun 2024

Regional Institutions Should Step Up to Integrate South Asia with Southeast Asia

Jayant Menon

Regional institutions can potentially foster closer economic integration between Southeast Asia and South Asia, but the existing ones need to cooperate more closely and more strategically.

ASEAN-India Relations India

10 May 2024

State of Southeast Asia 2024: India’s Strategic Conundrum of Diminished Influence and Rising Ambitions

Joanne Lin

Joanne Lin examines India’s dwindling strategic relevance in Southeast Asia and how it can enhance its image as a trusted partner in the region.

ASEAN ASEAN-India Relations ASEANFocus India

11 Oct 2023

India’s Expanding Global Influence Has Limited Reach in ASEAN

Hoang Thi Ha|Eugene R.L. Tan

India is seizing strategic opportunities to emerge as a new global power but its influence in Southeast Asia is not keenly felt yet.

ASEAN ASEAN-India Relations India

16 Feb 2023

BrahMos Supersonic Missiles: Poised to Buoy New Delhi’s Arms Exports?

Ian Storey

India is not a major arms exporter, something that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen to change. But there is one “Made in India” weapons system that half a dozen Southeast Asian countries seem most eager to buy: the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.

ASEAN-India Relations Defence India

16 Feb 2023

India and Multi-Alignment: Having One’s Cake and Eating It Too

Joanne Lin

The evolution of India’s foreign policy from non-alignment to multi-alignment has yielded dividends. The question is whether New Delhi can continue to be in such an enviable position.

ASEAN-India Relations India State of Southeast Asia Survey

27 Jul 2022

Frugal Innovations: New Delhi’s Soft Power Potential in ASEAN

Melinda Martinus|Laura Lee

India has the opportunity to boost its soft power in ASEAN, including by promoting and sharing its lauded ‘frugal innovations’ to help low-income Southeast Asians to improve their lives.

ASEAN-India Relations Diplomacy Technology