Strategic Hedging in Indo-Pacific Alignments: A Comparative Analysis of Geo-economic and Security Interactions between South Korea’s New Southern Policy and India’s Act East Policy

This study utilizes strategic hedging theory to comparatively analyze the geo-economic and security interactions between South Korea’s New Southern Policy(NSP) and India’s Act East Policy(AEP) in the Indo-Pacific region from 2014 to 2024. Rooted in neo-classical realist institutionalism, it identifies divergent strategic logics: South Korea employs institutional arbitrage and techno-economic statecraft to expand its middle-power influence, whereas India utilizes its land-sea duality to reinforce its role as a security provider. The analysis uncovers three principal findings: (1) Competitive institutional balancing is evident in ASEAN’s digital governance frameworks and Myanmar’s infrastructure investments; (2) Asymmetric complementarity arises from the consolidation of the semiconductor supply chain (with Korea’s technological edge) and maritime security in the Indian Ocean (highlighting India’s naval dominance); (3) Sub-regional mini-lateral mechanisms, such as the India-ASEAN Connectivity Projects, act as crucial facilitators for non-confrontational hedging.