Russia's power in Asia is "rebounding", as "Fortress Russia" has proven the ability to weather sanctions imposed by G7 allies since the Ukraine conflict, according to the Asia Power Index 2025 published on Wednesday.
A major factor behind Russia's resurgence in the world's biggest continent is its defence and economic partnerships with China and North Korea, Lowy said.
Overall, Russia ranks as the fifth most influential power in Asia, regaining the position it had lost to Australia in 2024.
The Asia Power Index evaluates the power of 27 countries based on eight thematic measures - military capability and defence networks, economic capability and relationships, diplomatic and cultural influence, as well as resilience and future resources.
"Moscow’s war footing also means that it continues to record improvements in some sub-measures of military capability due to its continued high level of defence spending and expansion of its armed forces, with experts in our survey noting the impact of battlefield experience on Russia’s capabilities," the Index said.
It also attributed Russia's high resilience score to its favourable position in terms resources, geoeconomics, and geopolitics. In terms of economy, trade between Russia and China hit $244 billion in 2024, representing 35% of Russia’s trade with the world, up from 19% in 2022, the Index said.
Further, it said that Russia's diplomatic influence has grown too, the first time since 2021, as the country invested in "high-level diplomacy" with important Asian countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
The US continues to remain the most influential country in the region, though it's power is at its lowest level since the Asia Power Index was inaugurated in 2018.
It said that the Trump administration's actions have largely been a "net negative" for Asia.
China is closing the gap with the United States, the Index found, with its margin with the US at its lowest level since 2020.
Meanwhile, India's overall power has continued to grow in Asia, as it attained the status of a "major power" in this year's rankings.
"Yet the growth in India’s influence through diplomacy and economic relationships has not been commensurate with its expanding resources," it said.
After India, Japan ranks as the most influential power on the world's most populous continent, although its rankings have fallen across all thematic areas but military capability.