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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.

Posts by Luke Hunt

February 01, 2021

China’s Latest White Paper and Southeast Asia

By Luke Hunt

A conversation with Bradley Murg about China's development aid and its flagging Belt and Road Initiative.

January 29, 2021

Cambodian Police Bar Journalists From Covering Investigations

By Luke Hunt

Should the rounding up of dissidents and other criminal investigations simply be ignored?

January 22, 2021

China’s ‘Vaccine Diplomacy’ Leaves its Mark on ASEAN

By Luke Hunt

Most Southeast Asian governments are looking to China for help in combating COVID-19.

January 14, 2021

In the Face of Criticism, Laos Pushes Ahead With Four Mekong Dams

By Luke Hunt

But costs and competition could leave the putative "battery of Southeast Asia" running on empty.

December 31, 2020

A Conversation With the President of the Overseas Press Club of Cambodia

By Luke Hunt

Dutch freelance journalist Ate Hoekstra has hopes for a much better 2021 in Indochina.

December 23, 2020

The Flashpoints of Hun Sen’s Cambodia

By Luke Hunt

A conversation with Ou Virak about human rights, China's rise, and the plight of the Mekong River.

December 15, 2020

Cambodia Reduces its Dependency on the US Dollar

By Luke Hunt

Infusions of riel banknotes and the introduction of digital currencies are helping extend the central bank’s control.

December 09, 2020

ASEAN Urged to Treat the Environment as a Human Rights Issue

By Luke Hunt

Southeast Asian countries rank among the worst in the world for forest loss, climate-related disasters, and air pollution.

November 26, 2020

Cambodia Begins Mass Trial of Dissidents, Opposition Figures

By Luke Hunt

The trials of the 129 defendants, many of them former members of a banned opposition party, could drag on for months.

November 24, 2020

Aun Pornmoniroth Emerges as Potential Future Cambodian Prime Minister

By Luke Hunt

The Singapore model is still favored for a Cambodian political succession.

November 18, 2020

Joe Biden’s Cambodian Sideshow

By Luke Hunt

On the cusp of the Biden administration, U.S. lawmakers are calling for fresh sanctions on Cambodia's government.

November 06, 2020

Cambodia’s ‘Bridge into Europe’ Tests Positive for COVID-19

By Luke Hunt

Prime Minister Hun Sen, among hundreds of others, is in quarantine after meeting with Hungary’s foreign minister.