Hong, Zhao

Abstract
After the Cold War, and in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, India lost not only a strong ally, but also substantial military and financial assistance that accompanied such a relationship with the former communist empire. Thus its status and prestige ultimately declined in the international arena, and likewise its geopolitical clout. India must therefore readjust and change its foreign strategy, and create a new place for itself on the international economic and geopolitical stage. The emergence of China as an economic dynamo and its increasing trade linkages and cooperation with ASEAN has been another motivating factor for India to enhance its own linkages with the ASEAN countries. This approach forms part of India’s overall efforts to work with ASEAN to balance the increasing influence that China might wield in its FTA within ASEAN, while at the same time, India’s increasing engagement with ASEAN countries has raised the concerns of China. This paper tries to examine the changing economic and political relations between India and ASEAN in the context of regionalism and globalization, their impacts on Sino—ASEAN’s relations, and China’s perceptions of India’s rise to international prominence and the potential strategic threat this presents.
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