Read more about our Contributors

Dr Premesha Saha is a Senior Policy Fellow at Asia Society Australia. Her research focuses on emerging trends in Indo-Pacific geopolitics and regional security architecture. Her expertise includes minilateral cooperative frameworks, great power competition, India’s role and policy in the Indo-Pacific. Her work also explores India–Australia relations, India’s Act East Policy, and India’s broader engagement with Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Oceania, and maritime security in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.

Anshu Kumar is a Junior Research Fellow at the Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He frequently writes on Russia, deterrence, and matters of international security. His latest work, Russia’s “preventive deterrence” and the Ukraine war, appeared in Defense & Security Analysis.

Dimitra Staikou is a Greek international journalist, political analyst, author and playwright specialising in India, South Asia, the Indo-Pacific, international relations and strategic affairs. Her work on geopolitics, security and international policy has been published and republished by a range of international media and policy platforms, including Eurasia Review, Modern Diplomacy, EU Reporter, EuropaWire, Daily Express UK, Pressenza and other international publications. 

Dr Misa Tomono is a member of the 2026 Indo-Pacific Cooperation Network. She is a medical doctor and PhD candidate specialising in multi-sectoral preparedness and crisis coordination. With experience across disaster response, public health research, and international institutions, her work focuses on strengthening evidence-based, resilient systems for all-hazards emergency preparedness and response.

Cheri Pong is a Hong Kong–based analyst specialising in international political economy, sanctions policy, and great-power competition. She holds an MPhil in Political Science and writes on economic statecraft, financial coercion, and the strategic competition between China and the United States.

David Saultry is an independent consultant specialising in economic security and critical minerals, previously advising on US-China strategic competition at the Australian Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Dr Lupita Wijaya is a Research Fellow from La Trobe Centre for Global Security. Her research expertise lies in the intersection of information and maritime security, with a particular focus on the South China Sea. She is currently managing Southeast Asia Maritime Media Fellowship (formerly known as Southeast Asia Maritime Media Visits Project), supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Joy Dianne Gumatay is Senior Strategic Communications Officer with the Philippine Coast Guard. Alongside her work in maritime governance, she conducts independent research on the Women, Peace and Security agenda and inclusive peacebuilding in the context of maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, as well as regional cooperation across the Indo-Pacific.

Lucy Pennington is a Naarm-based international affairs practitioner and researcher. She is a PhD candidate at Monash University, looking at how foreign policy is made on the diplomatic frontlines. Lucy has designed, implemented and evaluated major infrastructure, climate, public diplomacy, tourism, gender and water programs for DFAT (Australia), MFAT (New Zealand), the Asian Development Bank and UNHCR. She has worked on international development programs across the Pacific, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Her foreign policy commentary is featured in international policymaker-focused forums, including through @lucyfieldnotes on most platforms. She is a 2026 Euan Crone Asian Awareness Scholar (AIIA) and a Visiting Fellow at Universitas Gadjah Mada.