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
Who will abandon Taiwan next?
Who will abandon Taiwan next?
Earlier this month Panama established formal ties with the People's Republic of China (PRC) immediately after severing diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (ROC), as…
Why altruism is risky in China
Why altruism is risky in China
Several days ago some very upsetting footage surfaced online of a woman being hit by car in the central Chinese province of Henan. She was ignored by passers-by as she lay injured…
‘Maphilindo’ cooperation on the Marawi siege
‘Maphilindo’ cooperation on the Marawi siege
On Monday, Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano announced that Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi is planning a trilateral conference with the Philippines and…
Australia's reputation in China entrenched as greedy, untrustworthy and a US lapdog
Commentary
Australia's reputation in China entrenched as greedy, untrustworthy and a US lapdog
Originally published in the Australian Financial Review. Merriden Varrall
Four Corners sees the Party-state in all the shadows
Four Corners sees the Party-state in all the shadows
Last night ABC TV aired a Four Corners/Fairfax Media investigation into China’s power and influence in Australia that promised to uncover 'how China's Communist Party is secretly…
Mindanao: In the face of a new, united threat, Duterte courts unorthodox alliances
Mindanao: In the face of a new, united threat, Duterte courts unorthodox alliances
The conflict in the Philippines’ city of Marawi has now claimed the lives of 100 people, and President Rodrigo Duterte is committed to his May 23 imposition of martial law for the…
No honeymoon for South Korea’s post-election security posture
No honeymoon for South Korea’s post-election security posture
With a left-leaning leader back in command in the Blue House following two consecutive conservative administrations, South Korea's new President is crafting an approach to…
Indonesian democracy: Down, but not out
Indonesian democracy: Down, but not out
The imprisonment on blasphemy charges of Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as Ahok, has been a blow to hopes that his earlier success in public office…
China's legal reforms are far cry from Western-style justice
Commentary
China's legal reforms are far cry from Western-style justice
Originally published in the Nikkei Asian Review. Merriden Varrall
What Did Chinese People Think of the Belt and Road Forum?
Commentary
What Did Chinese People Think of the Belt and Road Forum?
Originally published in The Diplomat. Merriden Varrall
Xinhua News Agency
26 September 2022
The Australian Financial Review
16 September 2022
The Australian Financial Review
16 September 2022
The Australian Financial Review
10 September 2022
The Australian Financial Review
7 July 2022
The Australian Financial Review
8 July 2022
The Australian Financial Review
8 July 2022
The Atlantic
21 August 2022
The Sydney Morning Herald
20 August 2022
ABC Radio
6 August 2022