| Azlan Othman |

BRUNEI Darussalam ranks 19th in terms of the power it wields in the Asia-Pacific region of 25 countries, according to the latest Asia Power Index, a data-driven comparative assessment of power in the region by think-tank Lowy Institute.

The Sultanate made an overall score of 9.1 out of 100 and remains unchanged compared to last year. The think tank, however, labelled Brunei Darussalam as a “minor power” in Asia due to its relatively low scores.

The Asia Power index measured eight types of power – military capability, defence networks, economic resources, economic relationships, diplomatic influence, cultural influence, resilience and future resources.

The Sultanate scored the highest in resilience (15th place); moved up in economic relationship (16th place) as well as in economic resources (17th place) but dropped two spot in diplomatic influence to 19th place. More work needs to be done in defence network (20th place) and future resources (23rd place), military capability (23rd place) and cultural influence (23rd place).

The nations in the top 10 for overall power in 2019 are the United States (US), China, Japan, India, Russia, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, the Lowy Institute said in a media statement this week.

The US remained the pre-eminent power in Asia-Pacific, claiming the top spot in four of the eight measures in the index, although it faces relative decline as China is rapidly catching up. The US had a 10-point lead over China in 2018, but that gap has narrowed to 8.6 points in 2019.

Malaysia, Vietnam and New Zealand were the most improved middle powers in 2019, after North Korea.

The 2019 edition of the index was expanded to 126 indicators of power, and features more than 30,000 data points.

The index also tracks shifts in the distribution of power, with annual trends for each country.

Global wealth and power are shifting eastwards. In parallel, we are moving from an open and consensual international order to one defined more by competition and zero sum politics. The fevered geopolitics of our times will define the course of war and peace in the 21st Century.

The report assessed 25 countries and territories in terms of what they have, and what they do with what they have – reaching as far west as Pakistan, as far north as Russia, and as far into the Pacific as Australia, New Zealand and the US.

The 2019 Asia Power Index launched in Singapore at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy – has been expanded to 126 indicators across eight thematic measures of power. It features over 30,000 data points through a specially designed digital platform.

“The Lowy Institute quantifies power in two main ways. Resource measures assess what capabilities countries have, and influence measures look at what countries do with the capabilities they have. In this sense, the Index seeks to capture both the material and situational factors involved in the exercise of power,” it said.