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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 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
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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.
December 19, 2023

Myanmar’s Bleak Economic Prospects Detailed in World Bank Report

By Luke Hunt
Economy deteriorates further as fighting escalates, blocking trade routes with China and other neighboring countries.

December 11, 2023

Making Art and Finding an Edge in Cambodia

By Luke Hunt
Luke Hunt interviews German filmmaker Nico Mesterharm about arts funding in Southeast Asia and his latest documentary.
December 07, 2023

John McBeth, Asia’s Longest Serving Foreign Correspondent, Dies at 79

By Luke Hunt
McBeth was a standard bearer for big stories, honest and fair reportage.

December 01, 2023

Cambodian PM Hun Manet Poised for Bureaucratic Shake-up

By Luke Hunt
The new government is facing Chinese pressure to weed out local tycoons involved with Chinese cyberscam syndicates.

November 27, 2023

World Music and Good Sports in Southeast Asia

By Luke Hunt
Luke Hunt talks with Chris and Anya Minko about volleyball, wars, and Bachelors from Prague

November 17, 2023

One Dutchman and 350,000 Cambodian Refugees

By Luke Hunt
A conversation with Hans van Zoggel.
October 26, 2023

A Cambodian-Born Australian Politician on Repression and Diaspora Politics

By Luke Hunt
A conversation with Heang Tak.

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