Programs & Projects

The North Asia Program

The China and East Asia Program

The China and East Asia Program conducts research on the politics and foreign policy of China and its immediate neighbours in Northeast Asia: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and the Korean peninsula. The program is renowned for its particular focus on China’s domestic politics and how this helps to shape its external behaviour. From 2020, the Institute’s extensive research on Southeast Asia – including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Myanmar – is now incorporated in a dedicated Southeast Asia Program. Each Program also commissions work by other scholars on the broader region. To complement their written research, Lowy Institute experts hold a robust series of dialogues and events on the politics of the region, independently and in partnership with other organisations.

Photo: Jung Yeon-Je-Pool/Getty Images

Experts
Latest publications
News and media
Fairness not the meat in Joko Widodo deal
Commentary
Fairness not the meat in Joko Widodo deal
More than anything, President Joko Widodo's brief recent visit to Australia showcased a warm, personal rapport between him and Malcolm Turnbull, and the Prime Minister is to be…
De Lima’s arrest will test Duterte’s opposition
De Lima’s arrest will test Duterte’s opposition
The arrest last Friday of Senator Leila de Lima as part of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs is the latest escalation in the decade-old battle of wills between…
Duterte's wars (Part two)
Duterte's wars (Part two)
For part one, which examined President Duterte's war on drugs, click here. In mid-December, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte argued that the militant left in the…
Why Chinese economic diplomacy is working in Southeast Asia
Why Chinese economic diplomacy is working in Southeast Asia
By Angela Han, an intern with the Lowy Institute's East Asia Program. When President Rodrigo Duterte stood in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing this October and announced…
Jakarta steers its own course
Commentary
Jakarta steers its own course
Aaron L. Connelly writes in The Australian Financial Review on Indonesia's tough stance on its territorial waters. Aaron L Connelly
Indonesia in the South China Sea: Going it alone
Analyses
Indonesia in the South China Sea: Going it alone
While Indonesia under Jokowi can be expected to continue to take unilateral action to reinforce the Indonesian position around the Natuna Islands, Jokowi has not played an active…
What's next for Xi Jinping?
What's next for Xi Jinping?
There has been considerable speculation about whether Chinese President (and newly annointed 'core' leader) Xi Jinping might be secretly planning to extend his time in…
Myanmar's road ahead: Growth, peace, and US Sanctions
Commentary
Myanmar's road ahead: Growth, peace, and US Sanctions
In this article for Foreign Affairs, Research Fellow Aaron L. Connelly argues that the US should use its remaining sanctions authorities in Myanmar to discourage violence against…
India's edge on soft power
Commentary
India's edge on soft power
Originally published in The Australian.Peter Cai
China's rising soft power
Commentary
China's rising soft power
Originally published in The Australian. Peter Cai
ABC The World Today
16 November 2021
The Sydney Morning Herald
16 November 2021
Australian Financial Review
14 November 2021
ABC RN Counterpoint
8 November 2021
ABC RN Background Briefing
24 October 2021
Australian Financial Review
9 October 2021
Bloomberg TV
7 October 2021
ABC Radio National Drive
4 October 2021