Dr Lupita Wijaya is a Research Fellow at La Trobe Centre for Global Security, with a diverse academic background spanning Southeast and East Asia. She holds a BA in Communication & Journalism from Universitas Multimedia Nusantara (Indonesia), an MA in Journalism & Communication from Chinese Culture University University (Taiwan), and a PhD in Communications and Media Studies from Monash University (Australia). This cross-regional academic foundation informs her comparative approach to media and conflict, enabling her to work across linguistic, cultural, and political contexts in the Asia-Pacific.

Lupita’s research lies at the intersection of media and conflict, with a particular focus on the South China Sea and Southeast Asia. Since 2018, she has examined and published how media narratives shape territorial imaginaries, national identity, and state legitimacy. Her PhD thesis on media and the South China Sea conflict was nominated for the Mollie Holman Doctoral Medal in 2023. Her most recent publication, “Discourse and imagined communities in perceived threats and adversaries: A comparative media analysis of the South China Sea conflict” in 2026, employed semantic clustering and critical discourse analysis to extend Benedict Anderson’s concept of imagined communities, arguing that national belonging is produced not only through narratives of internal cohesion but also through the symbolic construction of external threats.

She currently coordinates the Southeast Asia Maritime Media Fellowship, supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, implemented by Blue Security Program La Trobe Asia and Yokosuka Council on Asia Pacific Studies (YCAPS). The program fosters knowledge exchange between journalists, maritime policy experts, and local fisherfolk community across Southeast Asia and Australia. As part of this initiative, she is also developing a practical toolkit to promote best practices in maritime reporting.

In addition to her academic publications, she regularly contributes policy-oriented analysis, including pieces in Australian Outlook and Foreign Policy Talks, translating her research on media, territory, and regional cooperation to wider audiences.

Lupita is also a member of the inaugural cohort of the Maritime GENIE (Governance Expanded Network for Innovation and Education) program, jointly hosted by the La Trobe Asia, YCAPS, and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). As a GENIE fellow, she works with scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to develop innovative, interdisciplinary responses to maritime challenges in the region.