Laos Firmly in China's Orbit
Published on Dec 12, 2020 by Luke Hunt
Laos is pushing ahead with four dams across the mainstream of the Mekong River, despite an escalating chorus of objections and crippling debt to Chinese state banks which resulted in the loss of control over its electricity grid to China.For almost two decades scientists and environmentalists have said Laos’ mega dam designs could irreversibly damage fish stocks, including endangered mammals like the Irrawaddy dolphin, and risked bankrupting the country. Read more here..
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United States 2020 Elections
Published on Nov 22, 2020 by Luke Hunt
A list of stories written by Luke Hunt regarding the November 3 2020 elections in the United States.A Taliban endorsement worthy of our timesOf the few re-election endorsements enjoyed by Donald Trump, a double thumbs up from the Taliban was the most appropriate. After all, the US President gifted the hardline fundamentalist militia what its leaders crave most — fewer American troops, a promise to withdraw from Afghanistan and talks, lots of talks. Read more.Southeast Asia to benefit if Biden wins US electionFour years of the Trump administration have soured US relations with Southeast Asia, which he largely ignored, dispatching his low-level minions when it suited his trade war with China designed to please his white working-class base. Read more.Joe....
Cambodian Leadership
Published on Jun 29, 2020 by Luke Hunt
PHNOM PENH – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has groomed his eldest son as a potential successor ever since that son, Hun Manet, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point almost 20 years ago, and is confidently predicting his ruling Cambodian People’s Party will remain in power for another 100 years. Analysts say, though, that that rise is far from certain and Lieutenant General Hun Manet – who also heads the army – will have to negotiate the CPP politburo, factionalism, a fickle public and China to win enough support to govern this one-party state. Even Hun Sen, the region’s longest-serving leader, has tempered recent speculation that the top job was his son’s for the taking, saying there....
Wrap: ASEAN & Russian Intentions
Published on Jan 19, 2020 by Luke Hunt
An insight into the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their relationship with foreign powers big and small.Follow the links:Russia Looks EastRussia Touts Arms Across Southeast Asia.
Wrap: Hong Kong Protests
Published on Nov 21, 2019 by Luke Hunt
Anti-government demonstrations have escalated and turned nasty in Hong Kong, raising fears of military intervention by Beijing. Read more here: Decisive acton will not resolve Hong Kong’s problems Hong Kong’s business people set their sights on America Australia a top destination for Hong Kong exodus Hiding Hong Kong’s inconvenient poor Hong Kong and the dark art of reading Xinhua .
Wrap: Sam Rainsy in Exile
Sam Rainsy has carefully crafted a career as the antagonistic thorn in the side of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, cultivating the image of a leader in waiting, wronged by political injustices and cheated at the ballot box.His recent attempt to return home and oust his nemesis had consequences.In Cambodia’s one-party state an authoritarian offers too little too lateCounting the Costs of Sam Rainsy’s Failed Return to CambodiaSam Rainsy’s circus casts a pall over CambodiaSam Rainsy Return Hype Ripples Across ASEAN.
China Update
Published on Oct 16, 2019 by Luke Hunt
Updates on China, its expansion policies and their impact across the world and in particular East and Southeast Asia where governments are torn between Chinese money and debt, and Western development policies.Read more, click on the following links:Hong Kong and the dark art of reading XinhuaBeijing haunted by nasty past, fearsome present and unlikely futureTiananmen Square: Remembering a massacreThe Meddling Kingdom’s threat to democracySlowing SE Asian economies will test social cohesionXinjiang: China’s trail of broken promisesA Chinese takeaway in Cambodia.
Wrap: Australia to Join Asean?
Published on Sep 5, 2019 by Luke Hunt
For years, the idea of Australia joining ASEAN has been circulated within some circles, with varying degrees of seriousness and oftentimes without due regard for how the idea would actually match up with political realities.Though the idea remains unlikely to take off anytime soon for various reasons, the larger point is that it remains unclear what it would actually achieve for Australia in the first place.Read moreThe prospect of Australia joining ASEAN was pushed before the re-election of the Morrison government, a foreign policy initiative which will gain momentum, but analysts are warning the prime minister should think twice.Read more.
A Podcast with Academic Greg Barton
Published on Jul 21, 2019 by Luke Hunt
The security environment in Southeast Asia has witnessed rapid change since the end of the Cold War, with various manifestations of this including the broadening of the notion of security to include climate change and sustainable development, the rise of more assertive China amid uncertainty about the U.S. regional role, and a mix of promise and peril in terms of the role of religion in politics.To discuss these issues and more, Luke Hunt recently spoke to Greg Barton, a research professor at Monash University where he works on a range of issues affecting Southeast Asia including religion and counterterrorism, in addition to continuing to pursue his longstanding research on Indonesia. They talked about these issues as well as the broader....
A Podcast with Indonesian Analyst Keith Loveard
Published on Jun 2, 2019 by Luke Hunt
Keith Loveard is a risk analyst covering Indonesia and the broader Southeast Asian region. He began his career as a journalist at the Sydney Daily Telegraphin 1968 and held senior positions at Australian Associated Press and ABC Radio News before joining the Hong Kong-based Asiaweek magazine in 1990 as its Jakarta correspondent. He spoke with Luke Hunt. Listen here. .
