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
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
What South Korea's election result could mean for the region
Commentary
What South Korea's election result could mean for the region
Originally published in the Sydney Morning Herald.  Merriden Varrall
In China, changing online attitudes towards Korea
In China, changing online attitudes towards Korea
Additional research by Zixin Wang, an intern in the Lowy Institute's East Asia Program. Shen Zhihua, a world-renowned Chinese scholar of the Cold War, recently proposed that …
North Korea: ‘A most enterprising country’
North Korea: ‘A most enterprising country’
A myth told and re-told in the West is that North Korea, a 'hermit kingdom' and 'pariah state', is cut off from the outside world. North Korean people suffer indescribable…
Indonesia di Laut Cina Selatan: Berjalan sendiri
Analyses
Indonesia di Laut Cina Selatan: Berjalan sendiri
Selagi Indonesia di bawah pimpinan Jokowi dapat diharapkan terus mengambil langkah unilateral untuk memperkuat posisi Indonesia di sekitar Kepulauan Natuna, Jokowi belum memainkan…
ABC Radio
6 August 2022
Bloomberg
3 August 2022
ABC Radio National Saturday Breakfast
19 February 2022
Australian Financial Review
18 February 2022
The Australian Financial Review
21 January 2022
Financial Times
9 January 2022