In news– Sydney-based Lowy Institute has released Asia Power index, 2021 recently.
About the index-
- It is an index that measures resources and influence to rank the relative power of states in the Indo-Pacific, published by the Lowy Institute annually from 2018.
- The Index ranks 26 countries and territories.
- The index evaluates international power in Asia through 128 indicators across the following eight thematic measures:
- Resources:
- Economic capability (17.5%)
- Military capability (17.5%)
- Resilience (10%)
- Future resources (10%)
- Influence:
- Economic relationships (15%)
- Defense networks (10%)
- Diplomatic influence (10%)
- Cultural influence (10%)
- As per the index the Covid pandemic has driven down the power of Asian giants like China and India in the Indo-Pacific region and has weakened their capacity to shape the external environment.
- It said that the US managed to expand its power through better diplomacy and retained its position as the most influential nation in the region.
- India is the fourth most powerful country in the region after the US, Japan and China.
- It said that India saw a loss of ranking in critical parameters like diplomatic influence and economic relationships in the last one year.
- India also lagged in economic diplomacy, dropping one place to finish eighth behind Thailand in the economic relationships measure.
- Japan and India, the two with the most potential to contribute to a regional multipolar order, lost more ground in 2021 than China.
- Overall, the USA topped six of the Index’s eight measures in 2021, up from four last year.
Source: Times of India
