India’s Look East Policy was initiated in 1992. The end of the Cold War enabled India to interact with a new set of actors in the international arena with greater intensity. Moreover, the Indian economy was under severe stress and the need for diversified trade was acutely felt. India looked East towards the ASEAN countries to expand its economic and political engagement. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, India supported the democracy movement in Myanmar and as a consequence the relationship with the then military government was frosty.
However, by the mid-1990s India adopted a more nuanced policy towards Myanmar and started engaging the military regime. Gradually, the relationship acquired a certain comfort level and it became possible for India to envisage connectivity project involving Myanmar.
