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Luke Hunt

Luke Hunt

Luke Hunt is a Southeast Asia correspondent for The Diplomat. He has spent three decades working in the region and produces the Mekong Deep Dive podcast. He can be followed on Patreon and X – formerly Twitter.

He served as bureau chief for Agence France-Presse in Cambodia and in Afghanistan under Taliban occupation – where he was commended by the United Nations for the “best and most insightful” coverage of the Afghan civil war. Hunt also covered the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Global War on Terrorism that followed, specializing in Islamic militancy.

Throughout the 2010s, Hunt focused on civil conflict and uprisings from the Middle East to East Asia and as an adjunct professor wrote the course War, Media & International Relations for Pannasastra University in Cambodia. He is the author of the “Punji Trap” and co-author of “Barings Lost” and is the recipient of several awards including the Hong Kong Human Rights Press Awards, Society of Publishers in Asia, and the World Association of Newspapers.

Follow him on X at @lukeanthonyhunt.

Posts by Luke Hunt
March 12, 2024

Cabbages and Condoms: A Conversation With Mechai Viravaidya

By Luke Hunt
How to save thousands of lives by preventing STDs.

March 12, 2024

A Papal Tour to Normalize Relations Between Vietnam and the Vatican

By Luke Hunt
Both sides have promised not to interfere in each other’s internal affairs.
February 29, 2024

Watching Human Rights in Southeast Asia

By Luke Hunt
A conversation with Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch ahead of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit.

February 26, 2024

Controversial Billionaire and Malaysian State Leader Is Laid to Rest

By Luke Hunt
The Bruno Manser Fund wants Taib Mahmud's assets and bank accounts frozen.

February 16, 2024

War Crimes and the Meaning of Genocide

By Luke Hunt
A conversation with war crimes lawyer Michael Karnavas.

February 06, 2024

Cambodia Looks to the Future By Luring Back Western Investors

By Luke Hunt
The IMF sees significant downside risks as Cambodia slips on corruption index.
January 25, 2024

India Mulls an End to Myanmar Free Movement Border Zone

By Luke Hunt
The development comes at a time that the junta is struggling with a forced recruitment campaign.

January 15, 2024

Cambodian PM Sacks City Mayor Amid Firings and Demotions

By Luke Hunt
Diplomats posted to Phnom Penh expect the new leader's bureaucratic shake-out to continue.

January 08, 2024

AsiaLIFE and Publishing Hip Magazines in Vietnam

By Luke Hunt
Jonny Edbrooke speaks about his various media ventures and the importance of being nice in Southeast Asia.

January 02, 2024

Remembering John MacDougall, an American Scholar of Indonesia

By Luke Hunt
The anthropologist, who died last week at the age of 53, was a renowned scholar of all things Balinese.

December 22, 2023

Thai MPs Urge Talks with Cambodia Over Access to Preah Vihear

By Luke Hunt
Cambodia has every right to stand its ground over a needless Little War
December 21, 2023

Human Rights and Protecting Cambodia’s Rainforests

By Luke Hunt
Luke Hunt interviews Suwanna Gauntlett from the environmental group Wildlife Alliance.

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