New Delhi, July 8 -- Former Envoy Vidya Bhushan Soni on Wednesday lauded the outcomes from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's three-day state visit to Indonesia, highlighting how the visit reinforces India's engagements with ASEAN member states and forges stronger ties across areas such as defence amid a backdrop of growing Chinese hostilities in the region.

Speaking to ANI, he recalled how the shift in India's foreign policy towards the region can be dated to the emergence of the Asian Tigers and that with the MAHASAGAR vision and Act East Policy, India has now expanded its ties with the region.

"Way back in the 90s, there was a shift in India's policy that we should look east under Narasimha Rao. That has paved the way for us in India for...