Terrorism; Far Out

Published on May 24, 2022 by Luke Hunt

A podcast with Charlotte McDonald-Gibson. Security laws imposed around the world to curb the spread of COVID-19 enabled the authorities to crackdown on militancy, which resulted in a brief respite from they type of terrorist attacks that had become all too familiar during the first two decades of this century.But as author Charlotte McDonald-Gibson notes, the pandemic could lend itself to increased isolation and the same factors that have enabled groups like the Islamic State (IS), al-Qaida, and the now defunct Jemaah Islamiyah in Southeast Asia to find support from remote corners of the globe.In her latest book, “Far Out: Encounters with Extremists,“ the veteran foreign correspondent chronicles the lives of eight people who succumbed to the influence of hardliners,....

War & Hypersonics

Published on Apr 2, 2022 by Luke Hunt

A podcast with Carl Schuster, an adjunct faculty instructor at Hawaii Pacific University since 2000, after his retirement as a captain with the United States Navy, and he has since earned an academic reputation for his research on China, Russia, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).His specialties also includes hypersonic weapons, which Russia claims to have used in combat in Ukraine. China is also developing similar weapons.However, Schuster – Chief of Pacific Command’s Intelligence Operations and Director of Operations at the Joint Intelligence Center Pacific from 1994-1999 – remains skeptical about Moscow’s claims and its production capabilities.He spoke with Luke Hunt about Russia’s relationship with China and the impact that is having on broader ties with the Association....

Ashes from Annam

Published on Mar 14, 2022 by Luke Hunt

Author Thierry de Roland Peel, revisits the slaughter of French Catholics is Saigon as WWII drew to a close, and how the Japanese gave rise to the Khmer Rouge, Viet Cong and Pathet Laoby LUKE HUNT / Phnom PenhFor decades author Thierry de Roland Peel was spell-bound by the stories his grandparents told of how their family, and their dog named Mephisto, had survived the slaughter in Saigon as World War II was drawing to its close in 1945, when the Japanese realized they had lost.Hitler had been defeated and in Japanese occupied Southeast Asia local communists were attempting to assert independence with Tokyo’s encouragement before the inevitable arrival of the British and French.“Before the Japanese surrendered it was total....

Cambodia's False Peace

Published on Oct 30, 2021 by Luke Hunt

Cambodia marked the 30th anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords on Oct. 23 with authorities attempting to justify the state of the country’s democracy while fending off foreign criticism of the deterioration of fundamental freedoms.The diplomatic community offered qualified praise, particularly in regards to poverty reduction, but sidestepped sensitive issues surrounding human rights, which have been under closer scrutiny ever since the ruling party won every seat contested at elections in 2018.British ambassador Tina Redshaw congratulated Cambodia “for its remarkable progress” but urged the government to “reinvigorate the ambition of the agreements and Cambodian constitution to ensure its own political future.”Read more here..

A Tribunal Winds Down

Published on Aug 22, 2021 by Luke Hunt

A podcast with Helen Jarvis. Khieu Samphan – the last of Pol Pot’s living henchmen – is slated to appear and deliver an oral defense of the crimes committed between 1975 and 1979.A bench of Cambodian and international judges will then deliberate on the 90-year-old’s appeal against his convictions for genocide and crimes against humanity.Nine days have been reserved for the hearings, following which the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) will start finalizing more than 15 years of legal work.The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt spoke with Helen Jarvis at her home on the banks of the Mekong River, north of Phnom Penh, about the “Herculean” efforts required to establish the tribunal, its successes, and other issues.Listen here..