East Timor Hopes for ASEAN Membership by 2017
Published on May 29, 2016 by Luke Hunt
After years of canvassing and lobbying, Timor-Leste will be ready to become the 11th member of ASEAN by next year following extensive talks with Indonesia. If its admission is realized, it could potentially provide an economic boom for the tiny Southeast Asian backwater.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat.
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A Speech for an Australian Prime Minister
Published on May 16, 2016 by Luke Hunt
Australian playwright Ross Mueller has captured the nuances of politics down under with his latest effort I Can’t Even, starring the actor and social commentator Rhys Muldoon as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who shares the role with the actress Louise Siversen on alternate nights.The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt speaks with the writer and star of a new play that focuses on the extremities of Australian politics.
‘Filipino Donald Trump’ Rodrigo Duterte Leads Presidential Race
Published on May 8, 2016 by Luke Hunt
To his many critics, he is an uncouth braggart with a penchant for politically incorrect jokes and a populist dislike for Western allies, but when Filipinos go to the polls Monday, they are widely expected to elect Rodrigo Duterte as president and initiate a political shake-up with unpredictable consequences in the battle for regional influence.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Washington Times.
What a New Vietnam-Russia Deal Says About the Mekong’s Future
Published on Feb 17, 2016 by Luke Hunt
It is potentially an unusual business transaction. While the prospect of a Vietnamese company taking over a Russian group in of itself is unusual, the buyout of a strategic stake in a major fish distributor is also a reflection of changing attitudes to the management of the Mekong River.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..
Troubles resurface for Malaysia's Najib in Europe
Published on Jan 31, 2016 by Luke Hunt
A case involving allegations of high-level bribery, blackmail, betrayal and the murder of a glamorous Mongolian socialite in Malaysia has resurfaced in France, only days after Malaysia’s prime minister Najib Razak was cleared of corruption charges at home.Read more from Lindsay Murdoch in The Age. .
Will Malaysia’s Najib Finally Quit?
Published on Jan 30, 2016 by Luke Hunt
Malaysia’s embattled prime minister Najib Razak has entered negotiations for a face-saving exit from the turbulence of his nation’s politics, according to independent reports, after the anti-corruption commission referred 37 charges to the attorney-general for prosecution.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..
Leadership Change in Laos: A Shift Away From China?
The leadership of Laos’ communist party and government has been replaced with a fresh slate, ending a five year-rule by Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong who was dogged by allegations of corruption, economic mismanagement and criticism that he was leaning too heavily on China.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..
Tsai Ing-wen Victory in Taiwan Poll a Fresh Rebuke to China
Published on Jan 14, 2016 by Luke Hunt
As both Beijing and Washington watch anxiously, Taiwan’s voters go to the polls Saturday and are widely expected to oust the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) after eight years in power and elect pro-independence opposition leader Tsai Ing-wen on her second try to become the island’s first female president.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Washington Times..
Is Australia Really Prepared for the Asian Century?
Published on Nov 29, 2015 by Luke Hunt
In July the non-partisan think tank the Lowy Institute held a panel event in Melbourne to discuss the findings of its recent poll ‘What Australians really think about the world’. Some findings were obvious enough: Australians are more concerned about terrorism than about war with China and welcome China’s input to the country’s economic growth even as they worry about investment in real estate.Read more from Helen Clark in Blue Notes.
Is Modern History Biggest Resource Heist in Myanmar?
Published on Oct 24, 2015 by Luke Hunt
Global Witness has staked its reputation on significant investigations and reports into corruption by corporates and governments on a grand scale, particularly in Southeast Asia where objectivity and honest appraisals about the state of the environment are in short supply.Its work in the East Malaysian state of Sarawak – where long serving chief minister Taib Mahmud retired with a family fortune worth an estimated at US$20 billion – was widely applauded, as were investigations into land grabbing across Cambodia by Vietnamese rubber companies.Now the London-based environmental watchdog has set its sights on Myanmar, where it has revised the value of the illegal gem trade substantially higher, at US$31 billion in 2014 alone, almost half of the country’s entire GDP and....
