Chinese military personnel take part in a rehearsal ahead of a parade commemorating the eightieth anniversary of victory in World War II in Beijing on August 20, 2025. (Pedro Pardo via Getty Images)
Senior lecturer in the Department of Security Studies and Criminology at Macquarie University, Council of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute
US Commerce Secretary Howard William Lutnick and Japanese Minister for Economic Revitalization Ryosei Akazawa shake hands on on September 4, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)
Arleigh Burke–class guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) sails in formation during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise on July 28, 2022. (DVIDS)
A formation of Dongfeng-41 nuclear missiles takes part in a military parade celebrating the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing on October 1, 2019. (Xia Yifang via Getty Images)
Senior lecturer in the Department of Security Studies and Criminology at Macquarie University, Council of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute
A microchip and Taiwanese flag displayed on a phone screen are seen in this multiple exposure illustration photo on April 10, 2023. (Jakub Porzycki via Getty Images)
Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele shakes hands with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to mark the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations in September, 2019 in Beijing, China. (Naohiko Hatta via Getty Images)
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses a joint meeting of Congress in the House of Representatives at the US Capitol on April 11, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is saluted by members of the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force during an International Fleet Review on November 6, 2022, off Yokosuka, Japan. (Photo by Issei Kato/Pool/Getty Images)
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers remarks during a joint press conference with US President Joe Biden in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 10, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)