Asia Power Index 2021: Indonesia 9th, Below Singapore

TheIndonesia.id - Indonesia is a middle power in Asia, said Lowy Institute in their latest findings report. Indonesia’s overall power ranking increased by two places from last year, having overtaken Thailand and Malaysia, but still below Singapore which is no 8th.

Lowy said this is in spite of the country’s score declining by 0.5 points compared to 2020, with other large Southeast Asian counterparts registering losses of even greater margins. The country is one of eighteen in the region to register a downward shift in its overall score in 2021. Indonesia performs best in the future resources measure, where it places 5th. Its lowest ranking is in the defense networks measure, coming in at 14th place.

In 2021, Indonesia saw the greatest improvement in its diplomatic influence, where it moved up two places. "It now outranks Singapore as the most diplomatically influential player in Southeast Asia, with President Joko Widodo having cemented his position as a leading statesman on the regional stage," Lowy Institute stated on their official website https://power.lowyinstitute.org/ quoted on Tuesday, December 7, 2021.

Indonesia exerts slightly more influence in the region than expected given its available resources, as indicated by the country’s positive power gap score. Indonesia is a net overachiever in Asia, and its positive power gap improved marginally in 2021.

Although Indonesia's economic capability index has dropped one place to 11th, the resilience side is at 10th place, and Indonesia's military capability is at 13th rank out of 26 countries.

"Indonesia is a middle power country in Asia," said the Lowy Institute.

The index analyzes the ranking of the strengths of 26 countries in the Asian region based on the resources and efforts of each country.

The 2021 edition, which includes four years of data, according to the Lowy Institute, could be the most comprehensive assessment of the distribution of power change in Asia to date.