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)
US Soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion engage targets with a pair of high mobility artillery rocket systems during Exercise Griffin Shock 23 live fire event in Bemowo Piskie, Poland, on May 19, 2023. (John Schoebel via DVIDS)
A Taiwanese honour guard takes part in a changing of the guard ceremony at the Martyrs' Shrine in Taipei on April 10, 2023. (Jameson Wu/AFP via Getty Images)
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Fumio Kishida shake hands following the conclusion of the G7 Summit Leaders' Meeting on May 21, 2023, in Hiroshima, Japan. (Yuichi Yamazaki/Pool via Getty Images)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida greet prior to the Quad meeting at the prime minister's office on May 24, 2022, in Tokyo, Japan. (Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)