| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| What is my project about? | Defence aspect of Indian Foreign Policy |
| What is the data I plan to use? | I plan to use two datasets where I will compare Chinese and Indian arms exports from 1991-2022 to Southeast Asia to review the effectiveness of India's "Look East" policy in engaging Southeast Asia through the lens of arms exports Chinese arms exports Indian arms exports |
| What is the question you plan to answer? | How effective is India's "Look East" policy in engaging Southeast Asia through the lens of defence diplomacy? |
| Why is this an important question? | According to International Relations scholars like CR Mohan, India under the Modi government has made substantial progress in engaging with Southeast Asia. I will investigate that claim through my dataset of arms transfers. This question is also important in understanding the claims made by the Hindu nationalists when it comes to their rhetoric of countering Chinese influence. Although they don't specifically refer to regions like Southeast Asia, my research question can reveal how much of rhetoric translates to action. Ultimately, I can visualize India's engagement with the region by looking at specific bilateral relations and explore which countries benefit from increased Indian engagement. |
| Which rows and columns of the dataset do I plan to use to answer this question? | For both datasets on Chinese and Indian arms exports, I have filtered the countries to those in Southeast Asia. I have also subset the data to be in the range of the years 1991-2022. For countries in Southeast Asia, I have filtered to Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. My external research also suggests that there have been considerable arms transfers to countries like Vietnam which my dataset does not reflect. I will continue working on that to understand why it is not reflected and will take corrective measures. |