![Indian army, navy and air force personnel participate in joint amphibious operations, coastal defense drills and an integrated air-land-sea response exercise to emerging maritime threats in Gujarat state in November. [Indian Ministry of Defense/X]](/gc9/images/2025/12/31/53334-focus_photo_1-370_237.webp)
By Zarak Khan |
India's elevation to "major power" status in the Asia Power Index 2025 has sharpened geopolitical lines across the region, delivering a pointed strategic message to Beijing at a time of sustained border tensions and widening competition for influence.
The latest edition of the influential index, published in November by the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based think tank, ranks India as the third most powerful country in the Asia-Pacific, behind only the United States and China.
That placement marks a decisive shift from India's previous classification among "middle powers" in 2024.
The reassessment reflects both India's expanding military and economic capabilities and a regional environment increasingly shaped by China's assertive posture, say analysts.
![Indian army troops conduct training exercises in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan state, in November. [Indian Ministry of Defense/X]](/gc9/images/2025/12/31/53335-india_2-370_237.webp)
Improved military capability
India's military capability recorded a significant improvement. Lowy ranked it fourth globally.
These gains come amid simmering tensions with China, according to observers in New Delhi.
The two countries remain locked in a protracted standoff along the Line of Actual Control, a de facto boundary that has witnessed repeated confrontations since 2020.
Clashes in June 2022, resulting in the deaths of 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers, marked the first fatal engagement on the Himalayan frontier in almost half a century.
Since that incident, Beijing has expanded its construction of roads, rail networks and dual-use military infrastructure in its region bordering India.
India has responded by upgrading border infrastructure, expanding all-weather road networks to speed troop deployment and advancing new missile programs, including the Agni-P, as part of what analysts describe as calibrated strategic signaling to Beijing.
"Competition with China has pushed India to sharpen its defense, military and economic focus," said Amar Malhotra, a New Delhi-based academic specialising in Indian strategic affairs.
"Every major improvement has unfolded in the context of rivalry with Beijing," he told Focus.
The World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft also recently ranked India as the world's third-ranking air power, ahead of China and behind only the United States and Russia.
In an October analysis, Newsweek described the development as "a stunning shift in global military power," where "India has leapfrogged China to claim the title of the third most powerful air force in the world."
"While the United States continues to dominate, followed by Russia, India's rise signals a dramatic recalibration in Asia's strategic balance," it added.
Surging economic capability
The Lowy Institute report also highlighted India's rising economic profile.
India placed third in both economic capability and future resources, surpassing Japan in economic capability for the first time since the index was created in 2018.
India has overtaken China to become the world's second-most attractive destination for inward investment, behind only the United States.
The ranking, based on a 10-year cumulative flow of foreign direct investment, challenges China's long-running economic narrative.
"This change is the result of geopolitical factors, with businesses seeking to diversify supply chains, as well as India's own attractiveness as an investment destination," it added.
Weakness in defense networking
India continues to lag in defense networks, its weakest area.
The Lowy Index placed India 11th in this category, behind the Philippines and Thailand, both of which have significantly expanded defense partnerships in response to China's growing military posture in the South China Sea.
India's reluctance to formalize military alliances limits its ability to strengthen regional defense interoperability, say analysts.
Japan, which slipped to fourth place overall, remains one of the region's most influential actors.
The Lowy Institute describes Tokyo as a quintessential "smart power." It noted its highly positive Power Gap, an ability to "make efficient use of limited resources to wield broad-based diplomatic, economic, and cultural influence in the region."