India in the World of Regionalization

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the policy of India in the processes of regionalization in Asia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union (a country, which used to be the main ally of India) there appeared a great need for India to make a deep revision of its geo-economic and geopolitical paradigms. Thus, Delhi started looking for the new strategic partners in order to restore the balance between India and extremely active China. The “Look East Policy” had become the first result of those searches, because of the long history of cultural and political influence of India on the South-East Asian countries. Apart from it, due to the active participation of India in the region, the member states of the ASEAN were aimed to set a balance in relationships with China in Asia-Pacific region. By developing the partnership with the members of ASEAN and participating in the processes of regional economic integration, India attempts to “push” the economic development of its northeastern states, situated separately from the main (“continental”) part of the country. Although there are some achievements, regarding the participation of India in the processes of regional integration, the country’s economy is still only partially integrated in the production “chains” in the ASEAN countries. Moreover, there are significant obstacles regarding the economic integration in the South Asia. They appear because of the fear, experienced by the countries of the region, regarding the Indian predominance in the region. Besides, strategically those countries consider contradictions between India and China as a situation from which they potentially may benefit. During the last decades, there has been a rising importance of the Western Asian region in strategic economic activities of India. From the Western Asia India gets energy carriers and due to the financial transfers made by the Indians, working in the Persian Gulf, it covers country`s balance of payment deficit.