India from time immemorial has shared cultural and historical affinity with the countries of Southeast Asia. But these similarities were never leveraged in formulating India’s foreign policy. Till the 1990s, the main emphasis of Indian foreign policy had primarily been to maintain autonomy from the two power blocs of the Cold War period.

The disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991 opened up a whole new dimension in India’s foreign relations. The policy planners realized the significant role that emerging economies of Southeast Asia could play in regional and global politics. 

The process of unfolding relations with South-East Asia actually began for India with the Look East Policy of then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in 1992 as previous "socialist" governments were, in fact, disdainful of the region - despite its sending feelers to New Delhi - because of its close links with the "imperialist" US.  The Look East policy mainly focused on economic integration with the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), whose security and strategic dimensions were somewhat underplayed. 

Realizing the huge potential of the region in connecting with "tiger economies"  of Southeast and East Asia,  India’s current Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 added certain new facets of strategic and security cooperation alongside economic collaborations, thereby reimaging the policy as a more proactive 'Act East'.

When it comes to giving a concrete shape to the Act East Policy (AEP),  Northeast India has come to play a pivotal role, and the Modi government has been rightly putting a lot of emphasis on the development of the region so that it can become a 'bridge' to ASEAN in the speedy implementation of the AEP. Its international borders with Myanmar, and certain cultural and religious similarities with the region, were seen as big pluses. 

But certain drawbacks also need to be taken into account.

While geographically and culturally India’s Northeast remains the pivot of the AEP, what needs to be reckoned with is the comparatively less developed infrastructure - connectivity, economical sufficiency, human resource and market - present in the region. Naturally, it is not a very viable option to undertake the entire implementation of the Act East Policy from India’s Northeast solely, when certain basic elements needed for its execution remain inadequate.

Moreover, in Modi’s scheme of things, the AEP has a broader definition and dimension which seeks to incorporate the strategic element which was previously underplayed in the Look East Policy devised by Rao. Thus, adhering to the new definition, maritime economic and strategic cooperation is a vital aspect that naturally cannot be undertaken from the Northeast. Therefore, the need arises for a new fulcrum that can overcome these gaps.

West Bengal’s importance

If these factors are considered, the next most feasible option would be to draw in West Bengal, alongside the Northeast. The geographical location of West Bengal, coupled with the presence of relatively better infrastructure, can provide more leverage to the wholesome materialization of projects associated with the AEP. Kolkata, the capital city of the state, is the biggest and the richest in eastern India. It can provide any projects under the AEP with the basic infrastructural amenities like finance, connectivity (rail, road, sea), a well-skilled labor force as well as a huge market.

Underdeveloped connectivity in the Northeast has made West Bengal the primary gateway to northeastern India and the surrounding countries of Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, etc. Siliguri's Chicken Neck corridor in northern West Bengal now serves as the primary linkage point of the northeastern states with mainland India, in turn connecting the Northeast with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar and Thailand also lie at a very proximate maritime distance from West Bengal. Kolkata is the closest metropolitan city in respect of India’s integration with its southeastern and eastern neighbors.

Corresponding to land linkages, maritime network and trade will constitute an indispensable element in furthering the implementation of India’s AEP. Naturally, the Bay of Bengal provides that maritime space that the Northeast lacks. Today, the Bay of Bengal has achieved extensive geopolitical and strategic importance in conjunction with the wider Indo-Pacific.

In line with the renewed significance of the Bay of Bengal, in 2020 the Indian government concluded the Coastal Shipping Agreement with Myanmar. As per the agreement, Sittwe port of Myanmar is now to be connected directly to Kolkata port. It also laid down provisions for inland water connectivity that will now allow for modulated mutual use of the waterways for the transport of goods.

In a multitude of projects initialized under the umbrella of the AEP, the state of West Bengal has been a major connecting point. The Chilahati-Haldibari Trade Link or the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Corridor are two of the major projects on that list. Apart from these, West Bengal is all set to mutate as a primary linkage point in the region, through the proposed Asian Highway Network, the Bangladesh-China-Myanmar- India Economic Corridor and the Zolkawtar Rhee Route.

There also remains ample possibility of the extension of the India-Bangladesh railway route to cover Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam. Not to mention, West Bengal would serve as the main connecting point if the projects are to be executed. This would raise the state’s status in the execution of foreign policy goals, in manifesting the 3 Cs of Indian foreign policy- culture, commerce and connectivity.

Stumbling blocks

Unfortunately, the vast potential that West Bengal has to offer in concretizing India’s AEP remain dismally untapped. The political tussle that has existed through the decades between successive governments at the center and those in West Bengal – the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government and the state’s Trinamool Congress dispensation continuing the feud currently - can rightly be described as the biggest stumbling block to the realization of a larger foreign policy and economic vision. 

The center state-quarrel is jeopardizing many projects linked to the AEP causing economic, strategic and diplomatic losses. Despite having enormous potential to become the leading commercial and economic hub between India and Southeast Asia, the state has failed to match up to the potential and promises.

India’s AEP today is not just limited to economic cooperation but simultaneously eyes a strategic balance of power in the region. With the ever-growing presence of China in Southeast Asia, it would be injudicious to keep the economic and strategic prospects that West Bengal has to offer, underutilized, and hostage to petty internal politics.

To keep pace with the ever-changing dynamics and safeguarding India’s economic and strategic interest in the region, cooperative center-state relations - or "cooperative federalism" as PM Modi calls it -  coupled with a well functional plan to utilize the economic and strategic resources of West Bengal and the Northeast in tandem can be the primary building blocks in accomplishing the fundamental goals of India’s ambitious AEP.

(The writer is a student of St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata. The views expressed are personal. She can be contacted at anondeeta.22@gmail.com)