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)
China's foreign minister Qin Gang attends a press conference during the First Session of the 14th National People's Congress at Media Center on March 7, 2023, in Beijing, China. (Lintao Zhang via Getty Images)
A man walks past China's and Pakistani national flags installed on the constitution avenue ahead of the visit of Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, in Islamabad on July 30, 2023. (Farooq Naeem/AFP via Getty Images)
A Sailor signals to a naval aviator inside an F/A-18E Super Hornet before it launches off the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson on April 4, 2023. (Leon Vonguyen via DVIDS)
A Blue Water Logistic Unmanned Areal System on the flight deck of the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Patuxent while the ship was underway in the Atlantic Ocean on June 10, 2023. (John Bruening via DVIDS)