The study, which was published by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute think tank on Sunday, ranked 66 countries around the world, broken down into categories of the Asian region, the G20 and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It sought to measure each nation’s diplomatic prowess through mapped diplomatic footprints collected from mid to late 2023.

The findings came against the backdrop of a volatile geopolitical landscape rife with conflicts, caused by, among others, the unabating war in Ukraine and the competition between Washington and Beijing that has put the Asia-Pacific region under the spotlight in recent years.

In the Asian region, China has the most substantial global reach with 274 diplomatic posts around the world, followed by Japan with 251 posts and Russia with 230.

While Indonesia ranked sixth in the Asia region, it holds the most extensive global diplomatic network of any Southeast Asian country, operating 130 diplomatic missions across 95 countries.

In the overall ranking of the 66 countries, Indonesia was the country with the 23rd highest number of diplomatic posts abroad. The top three overall positions were held by China, the US and Turkey.

While Indonesia’s 23rd position is neither a decline nor an improvement from the previous study, the most recent finding noted that Indonesia's diplomatic network has declined by three posts since 2017.