Highlights in Indian Media on Act East Policy

International Media India is building a positive image of the AEP Policy in the public perception through three key policy frameworks.

Highlights in Indian media about Act East Policy. (Source: thesecuritydistillery)

Defining the strategic role of Southeast Asia

Since the Look East Policy (LEP) was renamed the Act East Policy (AEP) in 2014 under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, India has always been aware of the strategic role and influence of Southeast Asia in implementing the policy to affirm India's larger and more worthy role as a power in the region and the world.

However, it was not until late 2022 that the Indian media really became active in reporting on these policy-driven issues.

In the process of promoting the implementation of the AEP policy, the Indian media has made many important moves. Some of the activities include increasing coverage of events and policies in the East Asia region, focusing on reporting and analyzing political, economic and security developments in the East Asia region; creating diverse communication strategies such as seminars, forums, television programs to increase awareness and understanding of the AEP domestically and internationally.

In addition, with the explosion of social media and digital media, Indian media has been creating relevant content about AEP to attract more attention from the younger audience and those who frequently use social media. These moves are just a small part of the media activities to promote AEP policies and activities, thereby enhancing India’s role and influence in the East Asia region.

The study of how Indian media contributes to the development of India's AEP through its objectives, content, approach, and internal and external factors, as well as its forecasts, will contribute to providing a theoretical and practical basis for the study of India's foreign policy in general and AEP in particular. Especially when Vietnam is one of India's "Comprehensive Strategic Partners", the study of the media of the Act East Policy becomes urgent and valuable both scientifically and practically.

Three approaches

The Indian media is building a positive image of the AEP Policy in public perception through three key policy frames.

Firstly, Indian media emphasized that ASEAN is an important pillar and vision in the country's Act East policy towards the Indo-Pacific region.

Speaking at the ASEAN Future Forum held virtually on April 23, Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar stressed that “a multipolar Asia” and “a multipolar world” are becoming increasingly evident. This highlights the important role of ASEAN and India in addressing the issues of the new world order, stressing the need for greater cooperation and coordination.

This assertion not only appeared recently but was emphasized by the Indian media and press early on when the EAP Policy was implemented more strongly in the ASEAN region, especially after India and ASEAN upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership within the framework of the 19th ASEAN-India Summit held in Cambodia on November 12, 2022.

In the first months of 2024, the Times of India and Hindustan Times focused on reporting on the substantive progress of the ASEAN EAP. While mentioning ASEAN’s pivotal role in the EAP Policy, the articles focused more on India-ASEAN cooperation during this period, focusing on topics of particular importance and concrete outcomes, including the early completion of the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) and regional issues of mutual concern.

Second, the Indian media focused on criticizing the EAP Policy for playing a positive role in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

During the period from 2022 to present, all three major Indian newspapers, The Times of India , Hindustan Times and ORF (Observer Research Foundation), have had a high frequency of coverage with a media frame on the role of Indian policy towards the Indo-Pacific region.

Through a series of news and articles appearing continuously on mass media sites, it can be seen that the Indian media plays an important role in shaping public perception of the AEP and its impact on development stability and peace in the Indo-Pacific region. At the same time, the consistent and strategic use of keywords in the articles helps build the image of India as a responsible power and a positive contributor to peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

Third, the media has been heavily promoting India's pivotal role in infrastructure and connectivity development.

India has been investing heavily in infrastructure, especially in building roads, railways and ports to improve connectivity with Southeast Asian countries. A prime example is the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway project that connects the three countries through a 1,400 km road corridor.

Through the Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative (IPIOI) launched in 2019, India and Australia have been collaborating in the areas of disaster risk reduction and management, trade and maritime transport connectivity, capacity building and resource sharing.

Thus, it can be seen that the international media of India is building a positive image of the AEP Policy in the public perception through three main frames: ASEAN is an important pillar and vision in India's EAP Policy for the Indo-Pacific region; EAP Policy plays an active role in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region; India plays an important role in developing infrastructure and connectivity.

Currently, in the context of the complicated political security situation in the Indo-Pacific region due to increasing tensions between China and other major countries such as the QUAD (Japan, US, Australia, India), the Indian international media plays a central role in bringing the EAP Policy to the world with a strong message about an India with far-reaching influence not only in the Indo-Pacific region but also on a global scale.

In the future, Indian international media will continue to emphasize the central role of ASEAN in the EAP Policy, strongly convey the message about the role of the EAP Policy in particular and India in general in ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, and at the same time strengthen communication about the role of the AEP in promoting economic development, especially sustainable economic development.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/diem-nhan-trong-truyen-thong-an-do-ve-chinh-sach-hanh-dong-huong-dong-278732.html