WE ARE MONTHS AWAY from the 66th Miss Universe competition, and we believe it’s not too early to look for the next beauty to succeed France’s Iris Mittenaere, who was crowned in the Philippines earlier this year.

We’re just as excited to find out who the strong contenders are, so in a series of posts, we’ll be featuring the Top 3 ladies from each continent who we believe are frontrunners for the crown.

Everyone seems to be anticipating that the 2017 edition of the annual search will be more exciting, since people seem a little bored with Iris’ reign — maybe because she’s making less noise than Pia Wurtzbach did in 2015-2016. To give Iris the benefit of the doubt, though, maybe she’s doing better offline; that online presence isn’t a must for this brand is a discussion for another post. For this one, let’s focus on the Top 3 Asian beauties vying for the next Miss Universe crown.

Yes, friends, we did the honor of narrowing them down to just three, as the other candidates seem to be lacking the beauty and personality to compete with other beauties worldwide. No offense.

Here are our Top 3 Asian contenders.

Bunga Jelitha Ibrani, INDONESIA

Winning beauty pageants is nothing new to this Indonesian beauty. She holds the Supermodel International 2011 title, on top of being an experienced model and actress. Two years ago, she also won the Guess Girl Southeast Asia 2015 competition, which gave her the chance to work as a Guess Brand model in the US for over a year. She claimed the Puteri Indonesia 2017 title earlier this year, making her the country’s bet for the Miss Universe 2017 crown.

While her beauty isn’t the most extraordinary, this Indonesian beauty has easily captured the hearts of fans all over the world, and a lot of her countrymen are placing their bets on her, hoping she can win the crown for Indonesia this year.

Rachel Peters, PHILIPPINES

While the Philippines’ bet for the 65th Miss Universe crown didn’t succeed in winning a fourth crown for the country, last year’s Maxine Medina’s Top 6 finish is still a tough act to follow — not to mention Pia Wurtzbach’s stunning performance in 2015 that put the country back on the map. But here comes another Filipina beauty set to continue the Philippines’ streak in the Miss Universe pageant — Rachel Peters.

While she faces tougher competition this year, her Filipina beauty, that figure-to-die-for, and her intelligence are Rachel’s strongest cards in the pageant. Played well, they could make her the fourth Filipina Miss Universe, and by extension, another asset for the organization, to say the least. We have high hopes for this lady.

Mareeya Poonlertlarp Ehren, THAILAND

Thailand remains at the top of the game, with their beauties placing in the finals of the Miss Universe competition in recent years especially — in 2016, Chalita Suansane made it to the Top 6 as well.

This year, though, Thailand seems to be sending its strongest contestant by far: 25-year-old Mareeya Poonlertlarp, a half-Thai, half-Swedish model. Standing 183cm, Mareeya earned her postgraduate degree in marketing from the Stockholm Business School. What makes her an even stronger contender for the Miss Universe crown is her fluency in four languages — Thai, Swedish, English and Mandarin. Mareeya is indeed a rare beauty, and based on her photoshoots, she embodies what it means to be Miss Universe. Will fate let her wear the crown?

While our Top 3 picks as strong Asian delegates are Jelitha, Rachel, and Mareeya, other Asian beauties shouldn’t be forgotten — that’s for sure. There are still a few months to go before the competition, which means a lot can still change. We’re well aware that beyond natural beauty and wit, the crown usually goes to the lady who works the hardest.

Watch out for the Top 3 Latina Miss Universe 2017 contenders in our next featured post. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.