Dr Huong Le Thu was a senior analyst at ASPI, Defence and Strategy Program.

At ASPI, Dr Le Thu  leads projects on Southeast Asia, including on regional alignment politics, Southeast Asian perceptions of great power competition, defence diplomacy, regional dispute management particularly in the South China Sea, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regionalism, and Australia’s engagement with the near region. She also works on broader issues of foreign policy and grand strategy, including comparative studies on the Indo-Pacific concepts and policies from US, Japan, Australia, India and ASEAN. Dr Le Thu leads the project “Indo-Pacific Election Pulse” which every year covers the most consequential elections for the region and co-manages the ASPI internship program.

Prior to joining ASPI, Dr Le Thu taught at the Australian National University, held research positions at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute) in Singapore and the Institute of International Relations at the National Chengchi University, Taiwan. She has worked and lived in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Seoul among others.

Dr Le Thu frequently comments in global media and has written for The Asian Security Journal, The Asia-Pacific Review, The Asian Policy, Oxford University Press, The Foreign Policy, The Financial Times, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Nikkei Asian Review, The Australian Financial Review, The Straits Times, Japan Times, and Taipei Times among others. Her publications have figured in some higher education course syllabi, including Cambridge University’s International Relations Department and the Australian War College. Her analyses have figured in international think-tanks including the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the Brookings Institute, the Royal United Service Institute (RUSI), Council on Foreign Affairs (CFR), East West Center, and many others. Since joining ASPI she has held the title of most published female author of the Strategist blog.

Dr Le Thu has received a number of awards and grants, including US State Department Fellowship for East Asian Security, the European Commission’s Asia-Pacific Research and Advice Network (APRAN), and an Asia EDGE Fellowship – a U.S. whole-of-government initiative to advance the nexus between energy, infrastructure and national security throughout the Indo-Pacific. Dr Le Thu was selected among inaugural Shangrila Southeast Asian Leader by the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), and is an alumna of the DKI Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS). In 2019 she was named among ’40 under 40’ Most Influential Asian Australian of the year for her contribution to research, debate and public policy.

Dr Le Thu received her PhD from the National Chengchi University, Taiwan and Master’s in international studies from Jagiellonian University in Poland. She speaks five languages and has published in four.