Australia Tightens Security as US Vets Refugee

Published on Jan 13, 2017 by Luke Hunt

This article first appeared in The DiplomatBy Luke HuntAustralia has beefed up its maritime and military presence along its northern coastline as part of strengthened efforts to further deter people smugglers while officials from Homeland Security in the United States begin the arduous process of vetting refugees for resettlement under a recent “one-off” agreement with the Obama administration.The six naval Armidale-class ships already deployed to Australia’s north will soon be bolstered by a major fleet support unit, either an ANZAC-class warship or a guided missile frigate.Australia is also expected to send its newest addition, the P-8A Poseidon – a cutting edge surveillance and anti-submarine aircraft – to strengthen existing capabilities like the P3-Orion in guarding maritime approaches to the Australian....

Australia, China: ‘Fear and Greed’

Published on Jun 1, 2016 by Luke Hunt

For more than two decades, Australia has danced a delicate two-step with the United States and its longtime Pacific allies on one hand and a not-so-friendly but big-spending China on the other.It was a split-the-difference approach that raised eyebrows — and blood pressures — from Washington to Tokyo and Seoul to Manila, where the view of Beijing’s designs on the region is colored far more in terms of potential threats than trade-related partnerships.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Washington Times.

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.

‘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.

Rodrigo Duterte Condemned for Rape Comments

Published on Apr 19, 2016 by Luke Hunt

The frontrunner to be elected president of the Philippines has joked about an Australian missionary who was raped and had her throat slashed during a jail siege. The comments by tough-talking mayor Rodrigo Duterte​ – a self confessed womaniser – provoked immediate condemnation only three weeks before Filipinos go to the polls in an election seen as crucial to the nation’s future.Read more from Lindsay Murdoch in The Age.