China's Navy is Gowing, but the Country Isn't Home to the Strongest Military in Asia

Several Asian nations are increasing their military spending, particularly in the category of weapons procurement. This comes in response to a worsening security outlook, due to conflict amid India and Pakistan, as well as the Middle East. A new study shows they are attempting to boost their own defenses. Despite the ultimate goal of self-reliance, many Asian natures still find it crucial to maintain outside allies. The International Institute for Strategic Studies out of London just released its annual Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment 2025. The assessment states that industrial help from foreign nations is still vital to Asian countries. The assessment looked at defense spending among Southeast Asia’s main players: Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Spending on military procurement and development rose $2.7 billion in the two-year period between 2022 and 2024.

One Asian nation known for its military is China. Over recent decades, China has vastly improved its military capabilities on different levels. China has an extremely strong naval fleet that rivals and outpowers most other nations, and its military forces are both strong and capable. Recently, China has been clashing with several other nations in an attempt to extend its military reach across the Pacific.

On July 3, 2025, the Shandong, China’s first domestically- built aircraft carrier, made a public appearance in Victoria Harbour. This marked the ship’s first port of call in Hong Kong, which coincided with the anniversary of the city’s release from Britain 28 years ago. The goal of the visit was to enhance patriotism through public tours, which sold out quickly. The impressive ship, which is China’s second carrier, can transport roughly 2 dozen J-10 fighter jets. This public display comes after China announced plans to build its third and fourth carriers, signaling a growing naval program.

Still, China isn’t considered the strongest military on the Asian continent. So, which Asian country has the strongest military? Let’s dig in and find out. To determine the countries with the strongest military in Asia, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2025 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. Countries are ranked based on over 60 different factors and given a strength score. The lower the score, the more powerful the military is. We listed these from least to most powerful. All supplemental information, such as airpower and naval power, was also sourced from Global Firepower.

This post was updated on July 7, 2025 to include China’s Shandong public port of call on July 3.

Why Does This Matter?

According to Paul Bracken with Yale University’s Department of Political Science, Asian nations have built up their military might for decades now. Beginning with India testing nuclear weapons in 1998 and fast-forwarding to Russia’s press to take Ukraine today, the growth of Asia’s military might should not be discounted. The world is currently in a state of conflict and we may soon see how these militaries will approach certain issues. For example, if China continues encroaching on other nations and contested areas within the South China Sea, countries like Malaysia — backed up by Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Britain — could deploy against the great power. While nobody has yet made a concrete move, it does seem like trouble could be brewing on the horizon.

Here are the strongest militaries in Asia:

45. Bhutan

Military strength score: 6.3934
Active military personnel: 7,500
Total military aircraft: 2
Total military vehicles: 84
Total navy ships and submarines: 0

44. Nepal

Military strength score: 2.8915
Active military personnel: 95,000
Total military aircraft: 15
Total military vehicles: 1,108
Total navy ships and submarines: 0

43. Afghanistan

Australia+apache+helicopter | Insurgents Driven Out of Shah Wali Kot

Military strength score: 2.6442
Active military personnel: 0
Total military aircraft: 9
Total military vehicles: 5,202
Total navy ships and submarines: 0

42. Lebanon

Military strength score: 2.5981
Active military personnel: 60,000
Total military aircraft: 80
Total military vehicles: 4,538 (including 116 tanks and 11 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 64

41. Tajikistan

Military strength score: 2.3049
Active military personnel: 9,500
Total military aircraft: 25
Total military vehicles: 1,240 (including 38 tanks and 20 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 0

40. Laos

Military strength score: 2.2663
Active military personnel: 100,000
Total military aircraft: 33
Total military vehicles: 4,380 (including 160 tanks and 64 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 0

39. Kyrgyzstan

Military strength score: 2.2543
Active military personnel: 23,000
Total military aircraft: 7
Total military vehicles: 2,686 (including 215 tanks and 21 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 0

38. Mongolia

W-3A Sokol Helicopter Czechia (CC BY-SA 2.0) by slezo

Military strength score: 2.1135
Active military personnel: 35,000
Total military aircraft: 7
Total military vehicles: 2,560 (including 420 tanks and 130 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 0

37. Cambodia

Military strength score: 2.0752
Active military personnel: 221,000
Total military aircraft: 25
Total military vehicles: 3,627 (including 644 tanks and 463 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 20

36. Georgia

Military strength score: 2.0695
Active military personnel: 55,000
Total military aircraft: 61
Total military vehicles: 3,392 (including 123 tanks and 42 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 19

35. Armenia

Military strength score: 2.0373
Active military personnel: 57,500
Total military aircraft: 71
Total military vehicles: 1,306 (including 109 tanks and 100 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 0

34. Yemen

Military strength score: 1.8901
Active military personnel: 66,700
Total military aircraft: 84
Total military vehicles: 550 (including 10 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 33

33. Oman

Military strength score: 1.8047
Active military personnel: 42,600
Total military aircraft: 128
Total military vehicles: 4,084 (including 150 tanks)
Total navy ships and submarines: 22

32. Bahrain

Bahrain Soldier. Soldier with flag Bahrain, Bahrain flag on a military uniform. Camouflage clothing

Military strength score: 1.7448
Active military personnel: 18,400
Total military aircraft: 132
Total military vehicles: 2,764 (including 150 tanks and 17 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 64

31. Kuwait

Military strength score: 1.6982
Active military personnel: 72,000
Total military aircraft: 128
Total military vehicles: 5,636 (including 367 tanks and 27 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 123

30. Turkmenistan

Military strength score: 1.6512
Active military personnel: 36,500
Total military aircraft: 91
Total military vehicles: 5,016 (including 654 tanks and 164 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 16

29. Jordan

Military strength score: 1.6139
Active military personnel: 100,500
Total military aircraft: 274
Total military vehicles: 16,624 (including 1,458 tanks and 56 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 27

28. Qatar

Military strength score: 1.4307
Active military personnel: 66,550
Total military aircraft: 251
Total military vehicles: 5,024 (including 99 tanks and 16 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 115

27. Sri Lanka

Military strength score: 1.3941
Active military personnel: 346,000
Total military aircraft: 85
Total military vehicles: 3,190 (including 44 tanks and 28 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 270

26. Syria

Syria helicopter | Two flying army helicopters on sunset background

Military strength score: 1.2771
Active military personnel: 170,000
Total military aircraft: 207
Total military vehicles: 11,148 (including 365 tanks and 204 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 27

25. Azerbaijan

Military strength score: 1.2531
Active military personnel: 126,400
Total military aircraft: 154
Total military vehicles: 7,642 (including 497 tanks and 268 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 38

24. Uzbekistan

Military strength score: 1.1121
Active military personnel: 48,000
Total military aircraft: 192
Total military vehicles: 2,970 (including 340 tanks and 108 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 0

23. Kazakhstan

Military strength score: 1.1016
Active military personnel: 110,000
Total military aircraft: 198
Total military vehicles: 7,736 (including 350 tanks and 287 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 26

22. United Arab Emirates

Military strength score: 1.0186
Active military personnel: 65,000
Total military aircraft: 551
Total military vehicles: 8,707 (including 354 tanks and 49 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 181

21. Iraq

Military strength score: 0.7738
Active military personnel: 193,000
Total military aircraft: 391
Total military vehicles: 37,288 (including 1,025 tanks and 572 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 68

20. Malaysia

Military strength score: 0.7429
Active military personnel: 113,000
Total military aircraft: 135
Total military vehicles: 13,506 (including 48 tanks and 36 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 100

19. Philippines

Military strength score: 0.6987
Active military personnel: 150,000
Total military aircraft: 202
Total military vehicles: 11,878 (including 10 tanks)
Total navy ships and submarines: 113

18. Myanmar

Military strength score: 0.6735
Active military personnel: 150,000
Total military aircraft: 317
Total military vehicles: 5,980 (including 445 tanks and 180 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 232

17. Bangladesh

Military strength score: 0.6062
Active military personnel: 163,000
Total military aircraft: 214
Total military vehicles: 11,584 (including 320 tanks and 110 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 118

16. North Korea

Military strength score: 0.6016
Active military personnel: 1,320,000
Total military aircraft: 861
Total military vehicles: 18,288 (including 4,344 tanks and 1,500 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 207

15. Singapore

Military strength score: 0.5271
Active military personnel: 51,000
Total military aircraft: 230
Total military vehicles: 8,998 (including 170 tanks and 24 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 50

14. Thailand

Military strength score: 0.4536
Active military personnel: 360,850
Total military aircraft: 493
Total military vehicles: 16,935 (including 635 tanks and 26 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 293

13. Saudi Arabia

Saudi+Arabia+artillery | Operation Desert Storm

Military strength score: 0.4201
Active military personnel: 257,000
Total military aircraft: 917
Total military vehicles: 19,040 (including 840 tanks and 321 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 32

12. Vietnam

Military strength score: 0.4024
Active military personnel: 600,000
Total military aircraft: 246
Total military vehicles: 11,912 (including 1,374 tanks and 474 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 110

11. Taiwan

Military strength score: 0.3988
Active military personnel: 215,000
Total military aircraft: 761
Total military vehicles: 19,921 (including 888 tanks and 234 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 97

10. Iran

Military strength score: 0.3048
Active military personnel: 610,000
Total military aircraft: 551
Total military vehicles: 65,825 (including 1,713 tanks and 1,517 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 107

9. Israel

Military strength score: 0.2661
Active military personnel: 170,000
Total military aircraft: 611
Total military vehicles: 35,985 (including 1,300 tanks and 183 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 62

8. Indonesia

Military strength score: 0.2557
Active military personnel: 400,000
Total military aircraft: 459
Total military vehicles: 20,440 (including 331 tanks and 63 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 331

7. Pakistan

Military strength score: 0.2513
Active military personnel: 654,000
Total military aircraft: 1,399
Total military vehicles: 17,516 (including 2,627 tanks and 600 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 121

6. Turkey

Military strength score: 0.1902
Active military personnel: 355,200
Total military aircraft: 1,083
Total military vehicles: 61,173 (including 2,238 tanks and 296 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 182

5. Japan

Military strength score: 0.1839
Active military personnel: 247,150
Total military aircraft: 1,443
Total military vehicles: 31,964 (including 521 tanks and 54 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 159

4. South Korea

Military strength score: 0.1656
Active military personnel: 600,000
Total military aircraft: 1,592
Total military vehicles: 58,880 (including 2,236 tanks and 426 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 227

3. India

Military strength score: 0.1184
Active military personnel: 1,455,550
Total military aircraft: 2,229
Total military vehicles: 148,594 (including 4,201 tanks and 264 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 293

2. China

Military strength score: 0.0788
Active military personnel: 2,035,000
Total military aircraft: 3,309
Total military vehicles: 144,017 (including 6,800 tanks and 2,750 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 754

1. Russia

Military strength score: 0.0788
Active military personnel: 1,320,000
Total military aircraft: 4,292
Total military vehicles: 131,527 (including 5,750 tanks and 3,005 MLRS units)
Total navy ships and submarines: 419

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