In a speech setting out Conservative foreign policy aims, Hague said Britain should strengthen its alliance with Commonwealth allies such as India and reduce its involvement with Europe and the United States.
"For too long, politics in this country has been obsessed with Europe and America. Of course these relationships are, and will continue to be, vital. But serious and responsible leadership in the twenty-first century means engaging with far greater energy in parts of the world where Britain's strategic interests will increasingly lie."
With less than a year to go before an election, the Conservatives are well ahead of the Labour government in opinion polls and are starting to flesh out how they might govern Britain.
Hague, who is tipped to become foreign minister if the Conservatives return to power, described the Commonwealth as "an organisation which in our view has been neglected and undervalued under the Labour government in Britain".
In this context, Hague said India and Britain should "forge a new special relationship, focusing particularly on fighting terrorism, protecting the environment and globalisation".
The Conservative foreign policy spokesperson dampened hopes that Britain would re-launch its military involvement in Europe, saying budgets were too strained and that European defence would duplicate NATO.
"Beyond Britain and France, there is no sign of other European nations making a serious effort to develop greater military capabilities," Hague said. "Indeed it is our criticism of EU defence arrangements that they too often involve the 'rehatting' or duplication of NATO structures - just calling something European does not mean it has actually enhanced Europe's ability to act."
He also said the European Union was "one of the institutions which must adapt to the changing distribution of world economic and political weight" and should evolve towards less centralisation.
"This is not a speech about European policy: our belief that the European Union needs to focus on the issues of global competitiveness, global poverty and climate change is well-known, as is our opposition to the greater centralisation of power in the EU, as embodied in the Lisbon Treaty."
"We see that Treaty as leading to institutional conflict within the EU, for instance, between the President and the High Representative on Foreign Policy, and a loss of democratic decision-making in nation states, a profound problem that the German Constitutional Court raised in its recent decision on the Lisbon Treaty."
Hague said a Conservative government would target relations with the Balkans as a top priority. "It is vital too that the EU does not give up on enlargement. A European Union without the Western Balkans would forever have a disillusioned and disenchanted hole near its centre."
