ASEAN’s Tepid Response

Published on May 20, 2014 by Luke Hunt

As ASEAN wound up its annual meeting in Naypyidaw with the usual round of backslapping and handshakes, Thailand was again close to political implosion while Vietnam’s navy faced another Chinese incursion in waters not far from Danang.Sadly, both threats to regional stability elicited only a tepid response from ASEAN leaders gathering for the first time ever in Myanmar, a country whose human rights record could end a global attempt to coax its regime out of a North Korean-like status.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat. .

English Remains ASEAN’s Best Policy

Published on Jan 2, 2014 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — In Manila the Filipinos are blushing. A columnist in Japan has singled out the Philippine attitude in learning and teaching the English language for high praise, urging the authorities in Tokyo to take note and adopt a more pragmatic approach to bolstering standards of English across the country. Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat. .

Ah Ny

Published on Jan 1, 2014 by Luke Hunt

Ah Ny completed an internship with Bomborra in 2020 where she worked part-time undertaking basic translation while monitoring local news and contributing to stories, and fixing for journalists. She then went on to further her studies with Pannasastra University of Cambodia.Mekong livelihoods punished by dams droughts and floodsNuon Chea: remembering the Khmer Rouge legacyMekong River strikes another record low.

US speaks softly and carries a big aid package for Typhoon Haiyan victims

Published on Nov 29, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Four years later 16 US Navy battleships set sail around the world in what became known as the Great White Fleet, signalling that the US had emerged as a force to project military muscle in the Atlantic and Pacific. The armada stopped in the Philippine islands, then an American colony, and spent a week in Manila Bay before sailing to Japan, Singapore, Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka) and then on to the Suez Canal. Read more from Michael Hayes in The Phnom Penh Post. .

Japanese Maintain Soft Approach Vying for Indochinese Influence

Published on Nov 24, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — The Japanese quest for diplomatic influence in Indochina has often been typified by a soft, behind-the-scenes approach backed by big spending on much-needed infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, health clinics and, in Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat. .