Indonesia Holds Highest Diplomatic Influence Score in Southeast Asia 2023

The Lowy Institute has noted numerous comments regarding Southeast Asian countries perceived as powerless, especially in the face of major power struggles and conflicts in other nations.

The 2023 Asia Power Index report challenges this narrative, highlighting the dynamism and ongoing influence of even smaller Southeast Asian countries.

The Lowy Institute also ranked Southeast Asian countries based on their diplomatic influence. Note that Timor Leste is not included in this ranking.

Indonesia ranks first with a score of 60.4 out of 100.

The Lowy Institute acknowledges that Indonesia is often criticized for weak leadership within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

However, recent diplomatic engagements show Indonesia as one of the most active diplomatic players in Southeast Asia.

"Jakarta hosted the second-largest number of foreign leaders or foreign ministers in 2021, and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi is a sought-after interlocutor in Southeast Asia and beyond," the Lowy Institute wrote in its report.

In 2022, the Lowy Institute noted that President Joko Widodo also attempted to mediate the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and hosted the G20 summit amidst challenging geopolitical circumstances.

According to the Lowy Institute, these ambitious steps resulted in improved expert survey scores for Indonesian leadership at regional and global levels in 2022.

Vietnam is second with a score of 55.2, followed by Singapore at 52.9.

Thailand is fourth with 48.3 points, and Malaysia is fifth with 43.8 points.

The Lowy Institute notes that despite the ambitions of other ASEAN countries—including Indonesia and Malaysia—to take a stronger stance than usual against Myanmar, the military junta seems unwilling to yield to external pressure and is becoming increasingly isolated.

Myanmar has the lowest diplomatic influence score, followed by Laos.

The Lowy Institute states that Laos is the only ASEAN country with a lower comprehensive power score than Myanmar and continues to experience declining economic capabilities.

In 2022, Laos faced a balance-of-payments crisis due to rising debt and high global commodity prices.

The diplomatic influence scores, and other measurements, were conducted by the Lowy Institute using a number of indicators. Indicator selection was based on literature review and expert consultation.

The Index methodology is informed by the OECD Handbook on Constructing Composite Indicators. A distance-to-frontier approach was used to compare a country's performance against the best and worst performing countries in each dataset.

The following are the diplomatic influence scores in Southeast Asia according to the Lowy Institute Asia Power Index 2023:

* Indonesia: 60.4 points
* Vietnam: 55.2 points
* Singapore: 52.9 points
* Thailand: 48.3 points
* Malaysia: 43.8 points
* Philippines: 37.1 points
* Brunei Darussalam: 32.7 points
* Cambodia: 32.5 points
* Laos: 27.3 points
* Myanmar: 24.6 points