“Act East Reloaded: How India’s BrahMos Diplomacy Is Redefining Southeast Asia”, India Narrative, November 25, 2025
“India’s relations with Southeast Asia have evolved with time, from economic collaboration under the Look East Policy of the 1990s to strategic and security cooperation at the turn of the new millennium. However, relations received a fresh boost with the inauguration of the Act East Policy in 2014, turning India’s Southeast Asia policy more proactive and accelerating across-the-board engagement. This engagement today is in a new avatar, with India eyeing the region as its latest defence market.
The Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin is on a two-day visit to New Delhi this week, underlining this fact as the visit draws attention as a follow-up to the major defence agreement between the two countries involving the sale of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the largest Southeast Asian country. The visit also highlights how India, while suffering a trade deficit of $45.2 billion with ASEAN, is now attempting to be a major exporter to the region in the defence sector.
India today wants to be a major global defence exporter as part of the Indian government’s emphasis on atmanirbharta or self-reliance in the defence sector. Under the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision, the government has resolved to turn the Indian defence sector into a globally competitive defence industry, aiming to boost the country’s defence export. India recorded defence production worth INR 1.54 lakh crore in FY 2024-25, while India’s defence export reached INR 23,622 crore in FY 2024-25 from less than INR 1,000 crore in 2014…….”
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