Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday co-chaired the India-<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/with-indo-pacific-in-focus-india-asean-virtual-summit-to-take-place-on-thursday-342470">ASEAN</a>&nbsp;summit focussing on India's "Act East Policy".

Watch:

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The leaders of ten ASEAN member states are participating in the summit which is being held online.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/vietnam-invites-india-for-asean-virtual-summit-in-november-336723">Also Read:&nbsp;Vietnam invites India for ASEAN virtual summit</a>

PM Modi along with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc will co-chair the 17th ASEAN-India Summit.

"There are many similarities between India's 'Indo Pacific Oceans Initiative' &amp; ASEAN's 'Outlook on Indo Pacific',"&nbsp;PM Modi said in his online message, adding, "strategic partnership of India &amp; ASEAN is based on our shared historical, geographical &amp; cultural heritage."

"ASEAN has always been the core of our Act East Policy," PM Modi asserted.

"It's of prime importance for us to improve physical, economic, societal, digital, financial and maritime connections between India &amp; ASEAN," PM Modi said at the virtual meeting.

"We have come closer in these sectors in the last couple of years and I believe this summit will go further to bridge gaps," the Indian prime minister said.

Earlier, Vietnam PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaking on the challenges said, "Peace and security have been facing greater threat as the result of compounding risk rising from the unpredictable conduct of states, major power rivalry and frictions that challenged the international multilateral system, increasingly non-traditional security issues and the rise of extremist tendency."

Vietnam's foreign ministry has not confirmed whether President Trump would attend the virtual meeting. The US president had attended the summit in 2017, however, the Trump administration has only sent representatives during the last two meetings.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday co-chaired the India-ASEAN summit focussing on India's "Act East Policy". Watch: The leaders of ten ASEAN member states are participating in the summit which is being held online.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday co-chaired the India-ASEAN summit focussing on India's "Act East Policy". Watch: The leaders of ten ASEAN member states are participating in the summit which is being held online. Also Read: Vietnam invites India for ASEAN virtual summit PM Modi along with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc will co-chair the 17th ASEAN-India Summit. "There are many similarities between India's 'Indo Pacific Oceans Initiative' & ASEAN's 'Outlook on Indo Pacific'," PM Modi said in his online message, adding, "strategic partnership of India & ASEAN is based on our shared historical, geographical & cultural heritage." "ASEAN has always been the core of our Act East Policy," PM Modi asserted. "It's of prime importance for us to improve physical, economic, societal, digital, financial and maritime connections between India & ASEAN," PM Modi said at the virtual meeting. "We have come closer in these sectors in the last couple of years and I believe this summit will go further to bridge gaps," the Indian prime minister said. Earlier, Vietnam PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaking on the challenges said, "Peace and security have been facing greater threat as the result of compounding risk rising from the unpredictable conduct of states, major power rivalry and frictions that challenged the international multilateral system, increasingly non-traditional security issues and the rise of extremist tendency." Vietnam's foreign ministry has not confirmed whether President Trump would attend the virtual meeting. The US president had attended the summit in 2017, however, the Trump administration has only sent representatives during the last two meetings.

ASEAN has always been the core of our Act East Policy, says PM Modi during virtual summit

Prime Minister <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/all-terror-attacks-finally-lead-back-to-single-source-modi-to-us-vp-mike-pence-177357">Narendra Modi</a> participated&nbsp;in the 16th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India Breakfast Summit,&nbsp;followed by the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pm-narendra-modi-arrives-in-singapore-for-rcep-summit-177173">13th East Asia Summit</a> in Singapore on Thursday.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders attend ASEAN-India Informal Breakfast Summit in Singapore. <a href="https://t.co/2N5XxMcP1l">pic.twitter.com/2N5XxMcP1l</a>
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"The <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/putin-stresses-cooperation-against-terrorism-in-first-official-meeting-with-asean-leaders-177301">ASEAN meetings</a>, they are annual meetings and they are very integral part of our diplomatic calendar. It is where India engages with the ASEAN countries essentially because we have a very active Act East Policy, we have continued engagements with our Eastern neighbours," Vijay Thakur Singh, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Secretary (East) had said at a media briefing on November 12.

The 13th East Asia Summit will be held in two segments on Thursday- the East Asia Lunch Retreat followed by the EAS in a plenary setting. Prime Minister Modi will emplane for India after the EAS'&nbsp;conclusion.

The EAS is a leaders-led forum in the Indo-Pacific region comprising all 10 ASEAN member states- Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam- and its eight dialogue partners, India, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Russia.

This will be Prime Minister Modi's fifth engagement with EAS since the summit's inception in 2005.The leaders of the member nations are slated to discuss international development issues like ICT, Smart Cities, Maritime Cooperation, Education, Finance, Food Security, Environment and Energy at the EAS.

The Prime Minister became the first head of government to deliver the keynote address at Singapore Fintech Festival on November 14, where he shared India`s financial inclusion story that has transformed governance and delivery of public services.

He then launched the Application Programming Interface Exchange (APIX) with the Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore T&nbsp;Shanmugaratnam.

Prime Minister Modi also visited the India Pavilion at the Fintech festival, following which he met the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong and exchanged views on cooperation in financial technology, enhanced connectivity, and regional economic integration.

"Prosperity through partnership. PM @narendramodi had a warm meeting with @VP of United States Michael Pence in #Singapore. Productive discussion on all aspects of global strategic partnership based on growing convergence of interests on regional and global issues," Raveesh Kumar, MEA's Spokesperson had tweeted after Prime Minister Modi met with US Vice President Mike Pence.

During a day full of diplomatic engagements, Prime Minister Modi further met with Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister of Australia and Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Prime Minister of Thailand in separate meetings to discuss areas in inter-country relations.

Prime Minister Modi also attended the second Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit.

"Shaping the agenda for regional cooperation. PM @narendramodi attended the 2nd #RCEP Summit in Singapore with 16 member states. PM reiterated that India was committed to an early conclusion of high quality comprehensive and balanced regional economic partnership agreement," Kumar tweeted on Wednesday.

Lastly, Prime Minister Modi attended the gala dinner hosted by Loong, before calling it a day in Singapore.

India and ASEAN celebrated 25 years of their engagement in 2017, which culminated in the India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit on January 25th this year. The summit was followed by the participation of all ASEAN leaders in India's Republic Day celebrations as chief guests. 
&nbsp;

Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the 16th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India Breakfast Summit, followed by the 13th East Asia Summit in Singapore on Thursday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the 16th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India Breakfast Summit, followed by the 13th East Asia Summit in Singapore on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders attend ASEAN-India Informal Breakfast Summit in Singapore. pic.twitter.com/2N5XxMcP1l — ANI (@ANI) November 15, 2018 × "The ASEAN meetings, they are annual meetings and they are very integral part of our diplomatic calendar. It is where India engages with the ASEAN countries essentially because we have a very active Act East Policy, we have continued engagements with our Eastern neighbours," Vijay Thakur Singh, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Secretary (East) had said at a media briefing on November 12. The 13th East Asia Summit will be held in two segments on Thursday- the East Asia Lunch Retreat followed by the EAS in a plenary setting. Prime Minister Modi will emplane for India after the EAS' conclusion. The EAS is a leaders-led forum in the Indo-Pacific region comprising all 10 ASEAN member states- Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam- and its eight dialogue partners, India, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Russia. This will be Prime Minister Modi's fifth engagement with EAS since the summit's inception in 2005.The leaders of the member nations are slated to discuss international development issues like ICT, Smart Cities, Maritime Cooperation, Education, Finance, Food Security, Environment and Energy at the EAS. The Prime Minister became the first head of government to deliver the keynote address at Singapore Fintech Festival on November 14, where he shared India`s financial inclusion story that has transformed governance and delivery of public services. He then launched the Application Programming Interface Exchange (APIX) with the Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore T Shanmugaratnam. Prime Minister Modi also visited the India Pavilion at the Fintech festival, following which he met the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong and exchanged views on cooperation in financial technology, enhanced connectivity, and regional economic integration. "Prosperity through partnership. PM @narendramodi had a warm meeting with @VP of United States Michael Pence in #Singapore. Productive discussion on all aspects of global strategic partnership based on growing convergence of interests on regional and global issues," Raveesh Kumar, MEA's Spokesperson had tweeted after Prime Minister Modi met with US Vice President Mike Pence. During a day full of diplomatic engagements, Prime Minister Modi further met with Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister of Australia and Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Prime Minister of Thailand in separate meetings to discuss areas in inter-country relations. Prime Minister Modi also attended the second Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit. "Shaping the agenda for regional cooperation. PM @narendramodi attended the 2nd #RCEP Summit in Singapore with 16 member states. PM reiterated that India was committed to an early conclusion of high quality comprehensive and balanced regional economic partnership agreement," Kumar tweeted on Wednesday. Lastly, Prime Minister Modi attended the gala dinner hosted by Loong, before calling it a day in Singapore. India and ASEAN celebrated 25 years of their engagement in 2017, which culminated in the India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit on January 25th this year. The summit was followed by the participation of all ASEAN leaders in India's Republic Day celebrations as chief guests.

PM Modi to attend ASEAN and East Asia summits today

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The &lsquo;Act East Policy&rsquo; is a political gesture to increase the pace of &lsquo;Look East Policy&rsquo; that is meant to connect North-East India (NEI) to South and South-East Asia(SaSEA). It is a policy that has been couched as an answer to various questions of geopolitics, national security, nation building, infrastructure development, resource utilisation, and trade in the region. As a gesture, it is imbibed with a lot of symbolisms and meanings.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

However, the policy has drawn a flak from various sections of society within North-East India. In principle, it has been a conscious policy of infrastructural ensemble and re-colonisation of resources which by-passes the local. This particular outlook of the state of India is driven by a certain discourse, perpetually pushing, at the same time, multiple conflicts under the carpet.

&nbsp;

Look East Policy was initiated during PV Narasimha Rao&rsquo;s government in the year 1992. As a policy outline, it sought to integrate the region and its margins to a much-developed area (SEA) as well as increase the connectivity of NEI region to the rest of India. The Rao government moved in snail&rsquo;s pace to realise its goals&mdash;building mega-dams, Trans-Asian highways, Asian Railway Link, Natural Gas and so on.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

On a later stage, the policy was extended beyond SEA to the South and East Asian countries too. This policy can be seen in the light of reshaping of political alliances after the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union. Moreover, the East Asian miracle also was of much interest to most countries. India hoped that it could benefit from its neighbours due to its geographical proximity and the positive relations that it shares with SEA. It is also in other sense, a policy which is directed at building &lsquo;security architecture&rsquo; of the country.

&nbsp;

The right wing government at the centre argues that the pace of development during the short life of Act East, when compared to Look East, is very promising. It seeks to further the philosophy of looking east through its focus on &lsquo;connectivity, culture and commerce&rsquo;. They argue that the bilateral trade agreements have leap-frogged.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The Act East policy goes beyond ASEAN countries and now reaches out to Japan, Australia, Pacific Island Nations, South Korea and Mongolia. The optimists even claim that the fruits of such a foreign and trade policy are sweet indeed. Japan&rsquo;s promised investment in the high-speed railway is shown to us as the shining example of such benefits.

&nbsp;

However, there were many organised oppositions against the consequences of such an extensive infrastructural development and policy by various local tribal bodies, student unions in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, members of the academia, and from the larger civil society. For instance, the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samitee (KMSS) led by the peasant leader and Rights to Information Act (RTI) activist Akhil Gogoi has been the forefront of this battle on dams in North-east.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

These various concerned groups were asking the basic question&mdash;at what cost, and for who is this so called development? As much as these questions are moral and ethical in its nature, it is also essentially a reflective of survival of local people and their everyday living. Raising question to such developmental projects and opposing them can also make life difficult for people, as we saw in the case of Akhil Gogoi and his colleagues who have been continually harassed by successive governments.

&nbsp;

There is no change of opinion from Pranab Mukherjee to Narendra Modi. They speak the same language of the state that bypasses the people&#39;s voice or consent. Look East, and subsequently Act East, reduces the entire region&#39;s cultural, social and economic spaces into a mere corridor to fulfill the dreams of the policy initiative. It is nothing but &lsquo;politics of self-actualization&rsquo;. Policies directed at the region are &lsquo;blind, self-directed and intransitive&rsquo;.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Between Look East and Act East, the choices of people suffered the most. It is the most undemocratic of its kind. It is only capable of fulfilling the elite, upper caste and Delhi-based politicians. Such bypassing of the local in arriving at a consensus is a typical example of structural violence orchestrated by the various institutions of the state&mdash;a modern micro and macro governmentality complex.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The Look East, by its very name, suggests that the people do not have a vision in life! However, the people have been looking East and have interacted with the East for centuries. There is no need to even remind us to Act East either. If that is the case, whose looking and acting are we talking about?

&nbsp;

The nation is not shared equally nor is the market. Act East/Look East leaves everything to the market to achieve&mdash;a holy equilibrium of supply and demand. The market in a capitalist state is a site of injustice. This positionality of the state&mdash;imposing development and making people thankful about&mdash;brings about a typical case of life as narrated by Dostoevsky in &lsquo;Underground Man&rsquo;. Similar to Dostoevsky&rsquo;s character, where he is engaged in an &lsquo;inexhaustible dialogue&rsquo;, the Act East policy is also a reality of our predicament.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

It is a question not just of one&rsquo;s life but of the entire cosmos that surrounds that life&mdash;a life world. The state likes the infrastructural ensemble. However, the larger question is&mdash;would you like to live in a place where there is an impending danger of your home and hearth being washed away? Or, is it a glass palace the Modi and Ambanis want to build it, and not live in it?

Between Look East and Act East policy, the choices of people suffered the most

The ‘Act East Policy’ is a political gesture to increase the pace of ‘Look East Policy’ that is meant to connect North-East India (NEI) to South and South-East Asia(SaSEA). It is a policy that has been couched as an answer to various questions of geopolitics, national security, nation building, infrastructure development, resource utilisation, and trade in the region. As a gesture, it is imbibed with a lot of symbolisms and meanings. However, the policy has drawn a flak from various sections of society within North-East India. In principle, it has been a conscious policy of infrastructural ensemble and re-colonisation of resources which by-passes the local. This particular outlook of the state of India is driven by a certain discourse, perpetually pushing, at the same time, multiple conflicts under the carpet. Look East Policy was initiated during PV Narasimha Rao’s government in the year 1992. As a policy outline, it sought to integrate the region and its margins to a much-developed area (SEA) as well as increase the connectivity of NEI region to the rest of India. The Rao government moved in snail’s pace to realise its goals—building mega-dams, Trans-Asian highways, Asian Railway Link, Natural Gas and so on. On a later stage, the policy was extended beyond SEA to the South and East Asian countries too. This policy can be seen in the light of reshaping of political alliances after the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union. Moreover, the East Asian miracle also was of much interest to most countries. India hoped that it could benefit from its neighbours due to its geographical proximity and the positive relations that it shares with SEA. It is also in other sense, a policy which is directed at building ‘security architecture’ of the country. The right wing government at the centre argues that the pace of development during the short life of Act East, when compared to Look East, is very promising. It seeks to further the philosophy of looking east through its focus on ‘connectivity, culture and commerce’. They argue that the bilateral trade agreements have leap-frogged. The Act East policy goes beyond ASEAN countries and now reaches out to Japan, Australia, Pacific Island Nations, South Korea and Mongolia. The optimists even claim that the fruits of such a foreign and trade policy are sweet indeed. Japan’s promised investment in the high-speed railway is shown to us as the shining example of such benefits. However, there were many organised oppositions against the consequences of such an extensive infrastructural development and policy by various local tribal bodies, student unions in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, members of the academia, and from the larger civil society. For instance, the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samitee (KMSS) led by the peasant leader and Rights to Information Act (RTI) activist Akhil Gogoi has been the forefront of this battle on dams in North-east. These various concerned groups were asking the basic question—at what cost, and for who is this so called development? As much as these questions are moral and ethical in its nature, it is also essentially a reflective of survival of local people and their everyday living. Raising question to such developmental projects and opposing them can also make life difficult for people, as we saw in the case of Akhil Gogoi and his colleagues who have been continually harassed by successive governments. There is no change of opinion from Pranab Mukherjee to Narendra Modi. They speak the same language of the state that bypasses the people's voice or consent. Look East, and subsequently Act East, reduces the entire region's cultural, social and economic spaces into a mere corridor to fulfill the dreams of the policy initiative. It is nothing but ‘politics of self-actualization’. Policies directed at the region are ‘blind, self-directed and intransitive’. Between Look East and Act East, the choices of people suffered the most. It is the most undemocratic of its kind. It is only capable of fulfilling the elite, upper caste and Delhi-based politicians. Such bypassing of the local in arriving at a consensus is a typical example of structural violence orchestrated by the various institutions of the state—a modern micro and macro governmentality complex. The Look East, by its very name, suggests that the people do not have a vision in life! However, the people have been looking East and have interacted with the East for centuries. There is no need to even remind us to Act East either. If that is the case, whose looking and acting are we talking about? The nation is not shared equally nor is the market. Act East/Look East leaves everything to the market to achieve—a holy equilibrium of supply and demand. The market in a capitalist state is a site of injustice. This positionality of the state—imposing development and making people thankful about—brings about a typical case of life as narrated by Dostoevsky in ‘Underground Man’. Similar to Dostoevsky’s character, where he is engaged in an ‘inexhaustible dialogue’, the Act East policy is also a reality of our predicament. It is a question not just of one’s life but of the entire cosmos that surrounds that life—a life world. The state likes the infrastructural ensemble. However, the larger question is—would you like to live in a place where there is an impending danger of your home and hearth being washed away? Or, is it a glass palace the Modi and Ambanis want to build it, and not live in it?

The Act East policy of Government of India and beyond

look-east

Look East, News on Look East, stories on Look East, articles on Look East, Look East stories at Wion, Look East news, Look East latest news

look east

ASEAN has always been the core of our Act East Policy, says PM Modi during virtual summit

PM Modi to attend ASEAN and East Asia summits today

The Act East policy of Government of India and beyond