Timor-Leste in ASEAN

Published on Jan 6, 2023 by Luke Hunt

A podcast with Kupa Lopez. Timor-Leste initially applied for membership to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 11 years ago, but since then Dili has been frustrated and disappointed, finding entry into the club of 10 nations a difficult ask.This prompted Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta to remark earlier this year that: “It seems as if to reach ASEAN, you have to fulfill all the criteria to enter heaven. And then the next step is ASEAN.”Membership seemed assured this year after Cambodia assumed the role of ASEAN’s rotating chair, with Prime Minister Hun Sen promising to do all he could to ensure Timor-Leste’s admittance as the bloc’s eleventh member state. That was not to be.Luke Hunt spoke with Kupa Lopes,....

Three Asian Summits

Published on Jan 6, 2023 by Luke Hunt

A podcast with Brad Murg. Southeast Asia recently played host to an unprecedented group of summits that firmly put the West and its U.S.-led foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific on the front foot.Bradley Murg, distinguished senior research fellow at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, speaks with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about the key takeaways and questions that arose after world leaders converged on Phnom Penh, Bali, and Bangkok.Listen here.

Leaving Cambodia

Published on Jan 6, 2023 by Luke Hunt

A podcast with Margaret Bywater. A prominent figure in Cambodian civil society for more than three decades, Bywater has worked with refugees and helped to rebuild the education sector, primarily through libraries and the establishment of information services.During the 1980s she toured refugee camps in Malaysia, Thailand, and Hong Kong before arriving in what was then known as Kampuchea in 1986. She later undertook a consultancy for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in Afghanistan.Working with Quaker Service Australia, Bywater lobbied for recognition of the Soviet-backed People’s Republic of Kampuchea and restoration of government aid, while backing efforts to find a peaceful solution to the long-running political impasse during the final years of the Cold War.Bywater spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke....

Sri Lanka's Political Implosion

Published on Aug 27, 2022 by Luke Hunt

A podcast with Ganeshan Wignaraja. Sri Lanka has been imperiled by a collapsing economy amid allegations of gross corruption by the Rajapaksa family which had ruled the island-nation for 17 years.Ganeshan Wignaraja is an internationally known development economist. He is a non-resident senior fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore and a senior research associate at ODI Global in London.He spoke with Luke Hunt in Colombo about the plight of his country. Listen here..

Vigilantes Saving Rainforests

Published on Jun 1, 2022 by Luke Hunt

A podcast with Karl Malakunas. Palawan island in the Philippines has emerged as a battlefield for a tiny network of environmental crusaders and vigilantes who are trying to protect its spectacular natural resources, powder-white beaches, and lush forests, which have made it one of Asia’s hot new tourist destinations.They are also the subject of a new feature-length documentary “Delikado” from director Karl Malakunas who pressed ahead with its production after one of the vigilantes was shot dead in 2011.“Delikado” follows Bobby, Tata, and Nieves as they risk their lives in trying to stop politicians and businessmen from destroying what is perhaps the Philippines’ last ecological frontier.The documentary also exposes how outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte’s notorious “war on drugs” has been....