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
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News and media
China and Bretton Woods: Yuan not ready to supplant dollar
Seventy years ago the world's money-men met at Bretton Woods to redesign the international monetary system. The conference was a battle of two ideas: multilateralism versus…
Thailand's coup: 'The army chief should know better'
The quote that heads this post is from a hard-hitting and critical editorial in today's Bangkok Post, which really says it all at the broad level of analysis. General Prayuth Chan…
China links: Gangster names, Putin, urbanisation, Myanmar, triads and more
That's right, provincial officials in Guangzhou have been banned from calling each other 'gangster' names like 'boss' and 'bro'.   Chinese companies are struggling to come to…
Martial law in Thailand: Not quite a coup?
The Thai military announced this morning that it was intervening to impose martial law throughout the country but insisting that its actions did not represent a coup. The…
Indonesia bans Vimeo
Video-sharing website Vimeo became the latest casualty of Indonesia's Anti-Pornography Law this week, joining Reddit and Imgur on the country's list of blocked sites. Information…
Golkar to back Jokowi for president
On Tuesday evening, billionaire businessman Aburizal Bakrie visited Pasar Gembrong, a cramped traditional market in Central Jakarta. He was there to show his support for Jakarta…
China links: Nimbies, censors, Turkmenistan, Xinjiang, federalism, DPRK and more
Government officials are bribing censors to have negative content about themselves removed from the public sphere. Turkmenistan increases its gas exports to China again. China's …
Why is Hong Kong unhappy?
Here in Hong Kong these days, you can't pick up a newspaper (metaphorically speaking) without seeing headlines on two topics: the people-to-people relationship between Hong Kong…
South China Sea: ASEAN Summit showdown looms
There is a good chance that history will repeat itself at this weekend's ASEAN Summit in Naypyidaw, Myanmar. This could be bad for ASEAN claims of unity and centrality, and for…
The China-Vietnam standoff: Three key factors
So, another maritime incident between China and one of its neighbours. There are reports from officials in Hanoi that Chinese and Vietnamese vessels collided on at least two…