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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
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August 02, 2023

Philippine Senate Passes Resolution Condemning Beijing’s South China Sea ‘Incursions’

By Sebastian Strangio
The resolution, spearheaded by a critic of President Marcos, comes amid growing frictions in disputed waters.
August 02, 2023

Why Did Myanmar’s Military Reduce Aung San Suu Kyi’s Prison Sentence?

By Sebastian Strangio
The move is part of a strategy aimed at normalizing the junta's relations with the outside world - or at least with ASEAN.

August 01, 2023

Rights Groups Call on Laos to Release Dissident Chinese Lawyer

By Sebastian Strangio
Lu Siwei was arrested on July 28, as he tried to board a train from Vientiane to Bangkok, and is expected to face deportation soon.

August 01, 2023

Myanmar Junta Extends State of Emergency for Fourth Time

By Sebastian Strangio
The extension is an admission that the military has failed to quell the broad-based armed resistance to its rule.

July 31, 2023

Has Vietnam Changed Its Tune on a Diplomatic Upgrade With the US?

By Sebastian Strangio
Comments by U.S. President Joe Biden last week seem to suggest so, but there is reason to remain skeptical pending further confirmations.
July 31, 2023

Vietnam Imprisons 54 Officials Over COVID-19 Flights Graft Case

By Sebastian Strangio
Among the most prominent officials were high-ranking members of the ministries of foreign affairs, public health, and public security.

July 28, 2023

Myanmar Junta Transfers Aung San Suu Kyi Out of Solitary Confinement

By Sebastian Strangio
The 78-year-old leader is now reportedly being detained at a government building in Naypyidaw.
July 28, 2023

After Years of Promises, Will Thaksin Finally Return to Thailand?

By Sebastian Strangio
There are several reasons to think that the fugitive former PM might actually be becoming home.

July 27, 2023

How Will Cambodia’s Incoming Leader Affect the Country’s Foreign Relations?

By Sebastian Strangio
China will be the main benefactor of the Hun Manet administration, while relations with the Western democracies will remain fraught.

July 27, 2023

Malaysia, Philippines Discuss More ‘Flexible’ ASEAN Approach to Myanmar’s Military

By Sebastian Strangio
President Marcos Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim say that Southeast Asian governments should be allowed to engage the junta informally.

July 26, 2023

Cambodia Hunting Down Opposition Activists Who Advocated Spoiling Ballots

By Sebastian Strangio
Despite winning 120 of the 125 seats in parliament, the ruling CPP is cracking down on even minor gestures of dissent.
July 26, 2023

Thai Parliamentary Speaker Indefinitely Postpones Next Prime Ministerial Vote

By Sebastian Strangio
The two houses of Parliament were due to convene on July 27, but will now await a Constitutional Court ruling questioning the blocked renomination of MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat.

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