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)
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens during a meeting on the development of occupied regions of Ukraine at the Kremlin on June 30, 2025. (Getty Images)
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and other participants attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization leaders’ summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on September 16, 2022. (Sergei Bobylyov via Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet during the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 25, 2025. (Zelenskiy via Getty Images)
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force held an F-35 aircraft delivery ceremony at Komatsu Air Base in Japan on April 26, 2025. (F-35 Joint Program Office via JASDF and DVIDS)
US President Donald Trump holds up a chart of "reciprocal tariffs" at the White House on April 2, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
President Donald J Trump speaks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House on February 7, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Jabin Botsford via Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks to the press following the NATO summit on June 25, 2025, in The Hague, Netherlands. (Andrew Harnik via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One as he arrives at King Khalid International Airport on May 13, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Win McNamee via Getty Images)
Russia's President Vladimir Putin shakes hands Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang during the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg on June 20, 2025. (Dmitry Lovetsky via Getty Images)