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Sebastian Strangio

Sebastian Strangio

Sebastian Strangio is Southeast Asia editor at The Diplomat. 

In 2008, he began his career as a reporter at The Phnom Penh Post in Cambodia, and has since traveled and reported extensively across the 10 nations of ASEAN. Sebastian’s writing has appeared in leading publications including Foreign Affairs, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and The New York Times, The Diplomat, and Nikkei Asian Review, among many others. He is the author of “Hun Sen’s Cambodia” (Yale, 2014), a path-breaking examination of Cambodia since the fall of the Khmer Rouge, and “In the Dragon’s Shadow: Southeast Asia in the Chinese Century (Yale, 2020). 

Alongside his journalistic work, Sebastian has also consulted for a wide variety of economic risk firms and non-government organizations, and is quoted frequently in the international media on political developments in Southeast Asia. Sebastian holds a B.A. and Master’s degree in international politics from The University of Melbourne. He currently lives in Adelaide.

You can get in touch with Sebastian via Twitter, Facebook, or email.

Posts by Sebastian Strangio
July 18, 2025

Philippine President Marcos to Meet with Trump in Washington

By Sebastian Strangio
The Philippine leader is the first Southeast Asian leader to be invited to Washington by President Trump since the start of his second term.

July 18, 2025

US Solar Manufacturers Seek New Tariffs on Imports From India, Southeast Asia

By Sebastian Strangio
Previous tariffs have prompted Chinese manufacturers to shift their operations to Indonesia and Laos, while low-cost Indian solar imports are also on the rise.
July 17, 2025

Former Thai PM Thaksin Gives Testimony in Lese-majeste Case

By Sebastian Strangio
The case is just one of a handful of legal complaints that threaten to end the influence of the Shinawatra family in Thai politics.

July 17, 2025

Pressure Builds on Malaysia to Reject US Ambassadorial Nominee

By Sebastian Strangio
President Trump's nomination of the cartoonish MAGA influencer Nick Adams has presented Anwar’s government with an acute diplomatic dilemma.

July 16, 2025

Thai Police Raid More Properties Linked to Cambodian Tycoon

By Sebastian Strangio
Thailand has accused Kok An, who also serves as a senator for Cambodia's ruling party, of involvement in large-scale scamming operations.

July 16, 2025

As Deadline Approaches, Trump Announces Tariff Deal With Indonesia

By Sebastian Strangio
The agreement bears a close similarity to the deal that the U.S. president announced with Vietnam in early July, but a lot of details remain unclear.
July 15, 2025

Ian Storey on Russia’s Turn to Southeast Asia

By Sebastian Strangio
Under President Vladimir Putin, Moscow has attempted to expand its influence in the region – with mixed results.

July 15, 2025

Thailand Anti-graft Body Says It Will Probe Suspended PM Over Leaked Call

By Sebastian Strangio
The NACC probe comes after the Constitutional Court suspended Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office pending its own investigation into her conduct.

July 15, 2025

Cambodia to Begin Military Conscription Amid Thai Border Dispute, PM Says

By Sebastian Strangio
Hun Manet has announced plans to begin enforcing a military conscription law that was passed in 2006.

July 14, 2025

Khmer Rouge Execution, Torture Sites Added to UNESCO World Heritage List

By Sebastian Strangio
The Cambodian government says that the three sites “bear irrefutable evidence of events amounting to one of the most serious abuses of human rights in the 20th century.”

July 14, 2025

Indonesia, EU Announce Agreement to Advance Free Trade Pact

By Sebastian Strangio
Facing significant U.S. tariffs, Jakarta and Brussels have expedited negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
July 04, 2025

Cambodia, US Nearing Agreement on Trade, Phnom Penh Says

By Sebastian Strangio
Among the ASEAN nations, Cambodia is the most potentially exposed to any sudden shift in U.S. trade policy.

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