Another featured article in Business World refers to the report on the inaugural Asia Power Index made by Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank that measures the overall power of a nation. The Asia Power Index scores countries’ degree of power by looking at their respective economies as well as their ability to “impose cost and confer benefits” that shape the choices of other state and non-state actors. Specifically, the Index looks at two major indicators (economic resources and influence) which in turn are composed of eight sub-indicators: economic resources, military capability, resilience, future trends, diplomatic influence, economic relationships, defense networks and cultural influence. A country’s overall power is its weighted average across these eight measures.

Based on the report, the Philippines ranked 16th out of 25 economies (and some major powers in the Asia-Pacific Region) with an overall score of 12.4. The country, however, was classified as an “overachiever” in areas where its level of influence “outsized” its economic resources. It is in the “Middle powers” category along with Russia, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, New Zealand, Vietnam, Pakistan, Taiwan and North Korea.

The United States is still the pre-eminent power in the Asia-Pacific region with a score of 85, nearly 10-point lead over China which is in 2nd place with 75.5 score. The two nations are under the category of “Super powers”. Japan (with 42.1 score) and India (with 41.5 score) are classified as “Major powers”.

Among the ASEAN member states, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia rounded out the top ten most powerful Asian countries in the Asia Pacific region. Please refer to the infographic for index scores and ranks.