India’s ASEAN hedge is no longer just the preserve of diplomats and corporations; it is also lived by ordinary Indians. More Indian parents are packing their children off to Singapore, where campuses feel closer, safer, and less hostage to the uncertainties of US visas; Indian investors, professionals, and digital nomads are moving to ASEAN cities for jobs in tech, healthcare, and finance. Remittances from Singapore have risen steadily.

Southeast Asia has become both a strategic and a people’s hedge, a way to secure futures when traditional routes look uncertain.

Diplomats are hedging geopolitically—engaging Southeast Asia to balance China’s dominance and offset shocks from the West. Companies are hedging commercially—shifting supply chains, scouting new markets, and investing in ASEAN’s manufacturing and digital ecosystems. For Indian firms squeezed by Chinese competition and wary of Western protectionism, Southeast Asia offers both proximity and opportunity.

ASEAN reciprocates, though still largely in geopolitical rather than everyday terms.

Arguably, 2025 was the year US tariffs, severely hitting India, rewired Asia’s diplomacy and opened opportunities for India and Southeast Asia to bond better.

US President Donald Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs on most Indian exports jolted supply chains across the region. What began as a shock in smartphones quickly spilt onto semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and finance, forcing India to look south and east for resilience.

India’s impressive November exports........

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