서강대학교

초록/요약

‘Look East’ Policy (LEP) has emerged as the highest priority of India’s foreign policy in the post-Cold War era. In light of India’s growing involvement in Southeast Asia since the early 1990s, the question concerning which factor compelled India to reorient its foreign policy and devote itself in strengthening its relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members has naturally got attention from many researchers. Among factors which led India to forge involvements in Southeast Asia, the most compelling driving force behind ‘Look East’ Policy is its concern against China’s overwhelming influence in the region. Indeed, the “China factor” has prompted India to be more proactive in attracting ASEAN countries in the form of LEP. In this respect, this thesis explores India’s looking east strategy toward China in Southeast Asia after the end of the Cold War. Given that India’s historical and current relations with China are marked by a mix of competition and cooperation, traditional hard balancing through the creation and aggression of war-fighting alliances and military capabilities is not an appropriate strategic option because India does not want palpable tension which could provoke hostile reaction from China or to miss the opportunity of benefiting from its booming economy. Given the situation, this thesis demonstrates that the main underlying mechanism utilized by India in its LEP in dealing with China’s rise in Southeast Asia is soft balancing strategy, especially through sub-regional institutions such as the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC), institutionalized economic measurement like a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and limited strategic cooperation with some of ASEAN members such as Myanmar and Vietnam.