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
It’s time to clear the clutter on foreign investment policy
Commentary
It’s time to clear the clutter on foreign investment policy
Originally published in The Australian.Peter Cai
Turning back? Philippine security policy under Duterte
Analyses
Turning back? Philippine security policy under Duterte
The incoming Duterte administration in the Philippines promises to be very different from the Aquino administration. Security policy will be more inward-looking. Military…
Taiwan seeks ‘independence’ in politics, trade
Commentary
Taiwan seeks ‘independence’ in politics, trade
This article was originally published in The Australian.Peter Cai
Philippines vs China in South China Sea: Tough talking could box China in
    The International Court in The Hague is due to soon rule on the case of the Philippines vs the People’s Republic of China in the South China Sea. The general…
Joko Widodo's Indonesia: Control and reform
Journal Articles
Joko Widodo's Indonesia: Control and reform
In this paper for The Economist Intelligence Unit's Hopes and doubts: Perspectives on the long road to Indonesia' economic development, Aaron L Connelly examines…
What the Washington Post gets wrong about Southeast Asia
The Washington Post editorial board, which has long argued for a vocal and uncompromising emphasis on democracy promotion in American foreign policy, has published an editorial…
Mekong: New photos reveal true scale of dam
Xayaburi Dam under construction, July 2015. (Taken from this PP presentation by Pöyry, posted on a Laos government site.) In an Interpreter post on 14 December 2015 ('What's…
How China's world views are manifested in the South China Sea
With the ongoing controversy over China's activities in the South China Sea. it is timely to explore how Chinese worldviews play out in practice. In particular, how they underpin…
COP21, China's role and developed nations' obligations as reported in Chinese media
By Marie-Alice McLean-Dreyfus, an intern with the Lowy Institute's East Asia program Coverage of the Paris climate conference by China's media has been largely positive, with…
Chinese worldviews and China’s foreign policy
Analyses
Chinese worldviews and China’s foreign policy
Four key narratives help explain the way that China acts in and interprets the world, providing a more nuanced guide to China’s aims and ambitions and helping to shape more…
Foreign Policy
29 September 2021
The Sunday Times (UK)
26 September 2021
Australian Financial Review
29 March 2021
The Australian
31 October 2020
Australian Financial Review
31 October 2020
ABC News
23 October 2020
ABC The Signal
23 October 2020
The New York Times
31 August 2020
ABC Radio National
10 August 2020
ABC Radio National Saturday Extra
1 August 2020
ABC Nightlife
29 July 2020