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)
Palestinian youths inspect a fallen projectile after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel in the occupied West Bank on October 1, 2024. (Zain Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on September 27, 2024. (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) General Commander Hossein Salami and IRGC Quds Force Commander Ismail Qaani attend a funeral prayer for the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, in Tehran, Iran, on May 22, 2024. (Photo by Iranian Leader Press Office/Anadolu via Getty Images)