Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 28) – The Philippines remains at the bottom half of countries ranked according to their diplomatic reach.
The country has maintained its 41st ranking out of 61 countries covered with a total of 87 diplomatic posts around the world, according to Australian think tank Lowy Institute in its 2019 Global Diplomacy Index.
The Philippines also has 60 embassies or high commissions, 23 consulates and four permanent missions worldwide.
Lowy said the basis of the ranking not only includes the size of the country’s network, but also its resources in terms of staff size and funding.
Meanwhile, China has overtaken the United States as the country with the most diplomatic posts across the world with 276 diplomatic posts globally, three more than the United States.
READ: China has overtaken US as world’s largest diplomatic power, think tank says
However, Lowy noted that the US remains the most popular place for countries to maintain embassies and consulates despite dropping to second place in the diplomacy index this year.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has been building his international profile since coming to power in November 2012, with an aim to put Beijing at the center of global affairs.
One of Xi’s signature policies has been the Belt and Road Initiative, which offers infrastructure funding to partner nations to create new capital projects and trading corridors for China.
The 2019 Global Diplomacy Index mapped the reach of 61 diplomatic networks around the world by embassies, consulates, permanent missions and other diplomatic posts.
Of the 61 countries covered in the Index, those which were part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, G20, and most Asian countries, or 34 of them, reportedly grew their networks between 2017 and 2019.
