India's "Eastward" Strategy From A Regional Perspective

India's "Act East" policy is originated from the "Look East" policy proposed by former Prime Minister Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao(1991-1996).In November 2014,Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced,at the 9th East Asia Summit,that he would upgrade the"Look East" policy to "Act East" policy.In addition to integrating economic issues,security issues,non-traditional security issues,and cultural issues into the same strategic framework,"Act East" policy is also trying to shape the“Indo-pacific”region:take“BBIN”initiative and the "BIMSTEC" Initiative as a starting point,use the construction plan of the Andaman-Nicoba Islands as a relay point,and then reach the South China Sea through a series of bilateral and multilateral cooperation between India and ASEAN countries,and finally compete and cooperat with the United States'and Japan's "Indo-Pacific" initiatives to form a broad strategic channel and cooperation platform from the East Indian Ocean to the Western Pacific.It can be said that under the vigorous development of several Indian governments,the scope and channel of "Act East" policy has evolved from bilateral to multilateral,from economy to security.It has become a great success connecting east Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific.On the one hand,when the construction of the regional order in the "Indo-Pacific" region is far from being settled,the regional intention of India's"Act East" policy have become increasingly clear and will become an important factor affecting the future "Indo-Pacific" regional order.On the other hand,with the rise of the geopolitical status of "Indo-Pacific",the United States,Japan and Australia have launched different versions of the"Indo-Pacific"concepts and regional strategic initiatives.China has also actively promoted the "Maritime Silk Road" construction,leaving the Indian "Act East" Policy new variables.This paper intends to use the region theory framework dividing the "Act East" Policy into two periods of "external cooperation" and "internal cooperation",systematically analyzing the meaning of its regional strategic map.The paper also discusses the perspective of "Act East" Policy and the "indo-pacific"regional order under the background of the upcoming "Indo-Pacific"concepts and initiatives proposed by the United States,Japan,Australia and China.