Anti-China Protesters Told to Go Home

Published on Jul 21, 2011 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Tensions between Vietnam and China have risen higher than they’ve been in years, thanks to a series of incidents in the South China Sea, an area believed by both nations to be rich in oil and gas as well as home to important global shipping routes. On Sunday, anti-China protests in the Vietnamese capital were shut down by police for the second week in a row.  Read more from Helen Clark in Time magazine. .

Najib, the Queen and the Pope

Published on Jul 21, 2011 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Marrying the demands of international diplomacy with the political realities of home is a tough ask for most countries and their foreign ministries. The two can be a difficult fit, as Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has found out all too well. Some back home seem determined to provide an unwanted backdrop for his whistle-stop European tour designed to shore-up his country’s vastly improving relations with the West and bring in some much needed foreign investment. However, echoes of the Bersih movement and their demands for electoral reform have dogged Najib and his entourage from London to Rome, while the prime minister’s own supporters have provided the nastiest thorn in his political side with wild and....

Cambodia wins Preah Vihear ruling

Published on Jul 7, 2011 by Luke Hunt

BOMBORRA IMAGES — A photo feature from Luke Hunt taken at Preah Viihear before the fighting abated on the Cambodian border with Thailand. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on November 11, 2013 a promontory and most of the nearby land that surrounds the 11th century temples at Preah Vihear belonged to Cambodia.The ICJ, the world’s highest court, also clarified the border that divides the two countries with the exception of one nearby hill and said “the parties had an obligation to settle any dispute between them by peaceful means.” Relations between Cambodia and Thailand improved after the election of Yingluck Shinawatra in August 2011 with both sides pulling their soldiers back ahead of an ICJ ruling. Thai troops....

A New Era for Thailand?

Published on Jul 4, 2011 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Thailand began a new era Monday, with the tantalizing prospect of an end to the violent strife that has wracked the country for more than five years, following Yingluck Shinawatra’s overwhelming victory in Sunday’s general election. Her win was an embarrassing defeat for Thailand’s urban elite and military, widely blamed for last year’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests that left 92 people dead, and a resounding vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his Democrat Party over their handling of the economy. Importantly, though, it was also a win for Yingluck’s older brother Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted from power by the military, and sentenced in absentia to two years imprisonment for corruption. Thaksin is widely....

Judges Retire in Khmer Rouge Case 002

Published on Jul 3, 2011 by Luke Hunt

BOMBORRA IMAGES —  A photo feature by Luke Hunt By LUKE HUNT / Phnom Penh In a courtroom on the flooded outskirts of Phnom Penh, a full bench of Cambodian and International judges has retired to consider its verdict in a controversial war crimes trial designed to find some kind of justice for about two million people who perished here under the maniacal rule of the Khmer Rouge. Underpinning their decision is 212 days of testimony from 92 people and thousands of documents which the prosecution insists proves beyond doubt that former Brother Number Two Nuon Chea, 87, and the former head of state Khieu Samphan, 82, deserve to spend the rest of their lives behind bars. Co-Prosecutor Will Smith....