Beyond The Bargaining Table: How India's Soft Power Is Rewriting The ASEAN Playbook

Trade talks between India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a dynamic block of 10 economies with over 650 million people and a $3.8 trillion market, may be strained, with India reportedly facing a $45.2 billion deficit, but the broader relationship is quietly flourishing in unexpected ways. There is something deeper at work.

Take Buddhist diplomacy, for starters. India, as the birthplace of the Buddha, holds spiritual weight that few others can match. In 2024, sacred relics of Lord Buddha and his disciples Sariputra and Moggallana were sent to Thailand, where more than a million devotees gathered at Bangkok’s historic Sanam Luang to pay their respects. I happened to be walking near Sanam Luang during the time—not as a Buddhist pilgrim, but simply an observer.

The scene was nothing short of moving. I am an agnostic. That afternoon, I bought a white lotus, sacred to Buddhists.

The relics were displayed in Thailand for 26 days, visiting four cities—Chiang Mai, Ubon Ratchathani, and Krabi, besides Bangkok, before being returned to India. These cultural exchanges speak to a growing relationship built not just on policy, but mutual respect and heritage. It is not a new idea. Way back in 1952, under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, India hosted the International Buddhist Conference in Sanchi, with over 3,000 monks and historians attending—one of the largest gatherings of Buddhist followers at the time.

Since then, India’s Buddhist outreach has expanded through temple restorations across Asia, relic tours, and the development of the international Buddhist Circuit. The idea of reviving Nalanda University—once a prominent centre of Buddhist scholarship and pan-Asian learning—in 2006, is part of a broader initiative to position India as a contemporary steward of its ancient cultural and intellectual heritage. The Narendra Modi government has actively leveraged Buddhism as a key aspect of India’s diplomatic outreach.

Cultural diplomacy is not the only front where India is gaining traction in Southeast Asia. A 2022 essay by scholars Melinda Martinus and Laura Lee for the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, a leading Singapore-based think tank, highlighted how Indian ingenuity can offer real solutions to ASEAN’s developmental challenges. “One such innovation is the rubber-based prosthetic Jaipur Foot, which helps millions of people with disabilities worldwide.

Others include the low-cost Mitticool Refrigerator, which cools food without electricity, and a solar-powered ‘e-rickshaw’, which can help the transportation industry to decarbonise. Demand for these frugal innovations is likely to be strong in the ASEAN region, especially in the least-developed member states, where many of the citizens cannot afford to acquire high-cost technologies or live below the poverty line,” say the authors.

There is also the tech story—India’s digital ecosystem, once seen as purely domestic, is going global. Singapore was the first ASEAN country to fully operationalise the use of India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI), launching its cross-border linkage with PayNow in 2023 and the game-changing digital payments platform, which is expanding into other ASEAN countries.

Add to that the human connections. Southeast Asia has become one of the hottest travel zones for young Indians. Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia were all top destinations in 2023, and by 2024, Thailand alone welcomed over two million Indian visitors. The booming Indian wedding and honeymoon market—estimated at over $130 billion—has turned parts of ASEAN into luxury hubs for multi-day celebrations, complete with vegetarian menus, Bollywood playlists, and elaborate rituals.

This steady stream of Indian travellers and professionals is shaping how Southeast Asia sees India, with its fire and its flaws.

Of course, challenges remain. China looms large as a competitor—both in trade and in the Buddhist diplomacy space—often leveraging its own relics and hosting spiritual forums to build regional influence. In December 2024, Chinese relics drew crowds at Sanam Luang, offering a reminder that India is not the only player in this arena. Plus, trade tensions between India and ASEAN are not going away anytime soon. The free trade pact signed in 2010 is under review, with whispers of India rethinking its commitment due to tariff imbalances and market access concerns.

While political and trade negotiations may hit roadblocks, this quieter counter-narrative—of pilgrims, innovators, tech users, and wanderers—needs to be recognised more. It may not fix every trade rift or tension, but it creates fertile ground for deeper cooperation and shared purpose, provided both parties are willing to learn from each other.

India and ASEAN also share vulnerabilities. Like border disputes. As I write, a flare-up between Thailand and Cambodia is making headlines, reminding us that even familiar neighbours can fall out. India may not be directly involved, but any roadmap for closer cooperation must account for the fragility in the neighbourhood. Myanmar, too, remains a source of regional instability, with its internal conflict spilling across borders.

How can India and ASEAN forge deeper collaboration ahead? “Projecting soft power is critical for enhancing partnerships, especially where mutual trust remains low,” say Martinus and Lee.

Trust is not built inside negotiation rooms and conference halls alone. It grows in temples, homes, markets, and everyday interactions. During my travels across Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia, I have seen firsthand how relationships flourish when basic needs like sanitation and safety are prioritised—and when cultural empathy flows both ways.

India has the stories, the spirit, and the substance. It needs to use them—not just to negotiate, but to connect.

Patralekha Chatterjee is a writer and columnist who spends her time in South and Southeast Asia, and looks at modern-day connects between the two adjacent regions. X: @Patralekha2011