The Diplomat | Author

Luke Hunt
Luke Hunt is a Southeast Asia correspondent for The Diplomat. He has spent three decades working in the region and produces the Beyond the Mekong 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.

July 16, 2025
Myanmar’s ‘Frontline Poets’: An Interview With Joe Freeman
By Luke Hunt

June 26, 2025
Cambodia’s Hun Sen Flouts ASEAN’s Doctrine of Non-interference
By Luke Hunt

June 16, 2025
World Bank Downgrades Economic Outlook for Cambodia, Laos
By Luke Hunt

June 12, 2025
Myanmar’s Civil War Spawns a Rich Pool of Underpaid Garment Workers
By Luke Hunt

June 10, 2025
With an Economy on the Rise, Vietnam’s To Lam Can Claim Pole Position
By Luke Hunt

June 02, 2025
Thai and Cambodian Troops on Alert Amid Saber-rattling in the ‘Emerald Triangle’
By Luke Hunt

May 25, 2025
Myanmar: Situation Update with Paul Greening
By Luke Hunt

May 15, 2025
Mae Sot’s Emergence as a Cheap Refugee Labor Hub
By Luke Hunt

May 12, 2025
Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Trumpian Worldview
By Luke Hunt

April 22, 2025
Thailand, Uyghurs, and a Shifting Foreign Policy Toward China
By Luke Hunt

April 18, 2025
Xi Jinping Declares China’s ‘New Era’ With Cambodia
By Luke Hunt
