ABSTRACT
India realised the urgency of the shift in foreign policy and economy, witnessing intra-regional and global dynamics in international relations after the end of the Cold War. The fall of the Soviet Union as a strategic partner, the deepening process of globalisation, and the systematically increasing scope of the liberal economic model and institutional integration in Asia triggered India’s decision to redefine its role in the Asia-Pacific region, starting from the Indian Ocean Region. With their growing limitations, the international non-aligned country status and the domestic state-controlled economy model did not fit into the state of international relations in the region and India’s aspirations. Active involvement in the IOR bilaterally and multilaterally, utilising its traditional civilisational relations and rapprochement with the USA, Japan, and Australia, as well as the “Looking East” development cooperation programme towards Southeast Asia, constituted an attractive strategy for India, as they helped to attain its goals effectively.
