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.
October 02, 2012
Veteran Cambodian Journalist Jailed for 20 years
Mam Sonando has been found guilty of sedition against Hun Sen’s government.
September 29, 2012
Indonesian Pitch for Disputed Seas
New developments show Jakarta working to break the impasse over the South China Sea.
September 25, 2012
Dan White, 1965-2012
Luke Hunt pays tribute to a colleague and old friend.
September 21, 2012
China Using America's Playbook?
Serious questions are being raised at Yunnan where suspects are on trial for the murder of 13 Chinese sailors.
September 20, 2012
Burma's Reforms: Window Dressing or Reality?
While reforms are moving forward with political prisoners being released, much progress needs to be made.
September 17, 2012
Russia's "Checkbook Diplomacy" in the South Pacific
Moscow is turning to financially vulnerable South Pacific nations to promote its foreign policy agenda thousands of miles away.
September 14, 2012
Lacking Justice, Cambodians' Discontent Rises
Why recent arrests, killings, villager discontent and a brutal past have created a toxic mix in Cambodia.
September 11, 2012
Will Vietnam Become SE Asia's Greece?
With talk of bank runs and foreign investment cut by a third, Vietnam’s economy is looking increasingly fragile.
September 04, 2012
The World's Gaze Turns to the South Pacific
With the world’s great powers calling, factionalism is increasingly present among island nations of the Pacific. It could be trouble.
August 31, 2012
Human Rights Activist Arrested in Cambodia
Authorities have charged the owner of one of the country’s only independent media outlets with sedition.
August 29, 2012
Chilling Evidence in Khmer Rouge Trial
“He described how, as a trainee, he was forced to stand and watch…”
August 25, 2012
Lao Government Strikes Back
Prime Minister Thongsing’s recent tirades suggest a shakeup is coming.