A different sort of extended neighbourhood is encountered eastwards, where general trade is more evident alongside energy and military nuances, wrapped up evocation of historical and cultural links. India's look East Policy was formally announced in the carly 1990s. Initially it was economics driven, emphasizing Southeast Asia and its regional organisation ASEAN. This is what Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had in mind in 2004: "I also naturally look at India's extended neighbourhood in South-East Asia. This is a region where truly historic socio-economic transformations are taking place. India became a Sectoral Dialogue Partner of ASEAN in 1992, a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in 1995, and full Dialogue Partner of ASEAN in 1996 . Annual summit meetings between India and ASEAN commenced in 2002.

Full form of ASEAN:-
1. Association of South East Asian Nations
2. Alternative of South East Asian Nations
3. Association of South Asian Nations
4. Alternative of South Asian Nations

1

ASEAN stands for the "Association of Southeast Asian Nations."
ASEAN was established in 1967 by five countries of this region — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand — by signing the Bangkok Declaration.
The objectives of ASEAN were primarily to accelerate economic growth and through that ‘social progress and cultural development’. A secondary objective was to promote regional peace and stability based on the rule of law and the principles of the United Nations Charter.
With some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, ASEAN broadened its objectives beyond the economic and social spheres. In 2003, ASEAN moved along the path of the EU by agreeing to establish an ASEAN Community comprising three pillars, namely, the ASEAN Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.