Lai-Ha Chan is an International Relations scholar specialising in global governance and Indo-Pacific politics. She is a Senior Lecturer in the Social and Political Sciences Program, School of Communication and Social Sciences, and a Research Associate at the Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI), University of Technology Sydney. She was a Fung Global Fellow (2016-2017) at the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, Princeton University, New Jersey; a Japan Foundation Indo-Pacific Research Fellow (2025-26); and a Senior Visiting Fellow at Ritsumeikan University (2025-2026), Kyoto and Osaka, Japan. 

Her research examines the politics of global governance, with particular interest in deep-sea mining governance, critical minerals, China-US strategic competition, and middle-power diplomacy and minilateralism in the Indo-Pacific. 

Selected Research publications (2026): 

• Lai-Ha Chan & Pak K. Lee (2026). Who Governs Deep-Sea Mining? A Battle Between Global Governance and National Governance. Cambridge Unviersity Press, Cambridge Elements in Earth System Governance. 
  • Watch the accompanying video: Who Governs Deep-Sea Mining? 
• Pak K. Lee & Lai-Ha Chan (2026). "The Limits of Autocratic Collaboration in Stabilizing Spheres of Influence: Legitimacy in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor," Global Studies Quarterly, Vol.6, Issue 2 (Open Access) 

Policy & Public Commentary (2026)

• Lai-Ha Chan (2026). "Recalibrating Ties with the US: Australia's Autonomous Middle Power Ambitions," Italian Institute for International Political Studies Dossier, 9 July. 
• Lai-Ha Chan (2026). "In Forum USA250: The Future of the Liberal International Order in the Indo-Pacific - Middle Power in a World of 'Bullying' Great Powers," 9Dashline, 1 July. 
• Lai-Ha Chan (2026). "Beyond Hedging: Australia and Middle Power Diplomacy in the Age of Trump 2.0," Australia-China Relations Institute, 29 May. 
• Lai-Ha Chan (2026). "How Japan's Prime Minister Hijacked A Deep-Sea Rare-Earth Exploration," E-International Relations, 27 February.  

In 2026, Dr Chan led the successful application for the University of Techonlogy Sydney to obtain observer status at the International Seabed Authority (ISA). This achievement enables UTS researchers to participate in ISA Council and Assembly meetings and engage directly with international discussions on the governance of deep-sea mining. 

Dr Chan is an Executive Editor of International Relations of the Asia-Pacific (IRAP), a leading Q1 journal published by Oxford University Press. She is also the co-convenor of the Asia Pacific Research Group within the Faculty of Design and Society at UTS.