The Look East Policy (LEP) became the Act East Policy (AEP) in 2014, with the aim of proactively strengthening ties with ASEAN, with the Northeast at the centre of India’s approach to its partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) over time.
However, apart from the change in nomenclature, this shift has not really translated into anything substantial. Political instability in Myanmar, as well as broader instability in the region, has not helped improve the situation.
Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said his government is not only committed to its ‘Act East’ policy but has also resolved to ‘Act Fast’ for the eight northeastern states, there will be considerable reservation, given how the policy has remained a top-down paper tiger.
The government’s resolve to ‘Act East, Act Fast’ sounds hollow. Unless there is a clear roadmap, these words will be seen as rhetoric, with little being done to translate the policy into something achievable, with the Northeast as a stakeholder rather than merely a placeholder for India’s Act East policy.