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)
A Royal Australian Air Force F-35A Lightning II conducts a flypast over HMAS Sydney during Exercise Tasman Shield on March 28, 2023. (Photo via Australian Government Defense)
The People's Liberation Army and the PLA Navy conduct a live-fire drill in Zhangzhou, China, on August 24, 2022. (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Taiwan's AAV7 amphibious assault vehicle surfaces from the sea during the Han Kuang military exercise, which simulates China's People's Liberation Army invading Pingtung, Taiwan, on July 28, 2022. (Annabelle Chih via Getty Images)
A Lithuanian Mi-8 helicopter participating in the NATO Iron Wolf military exercises on October 26, 2022, in Pabrade, Lithuania. (Sean Gallup via Getty Images)