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)
Afghan women and children stand outside a primary healthcare center in Ghazni, Afghanistan, on February 2, 2025. (Mohammad Faisal Naweed/AFP via Getty Images)
A China-Europe freight train loaded with containers prepares to depart from the China-Kazakhstan Logistics Cooperation base in Lianyungang, China, on August 24, 2023. (Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the awarding ceremony at the Moscow State University, on January 24, 2025, in Moscow, Russia. (Getty Images)
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet in Paris, France, on December 7, 2024. (Photo by Mathilde Kaczkowski / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with President of Burkina Faso Ibrahim Traore during the Second Summit and Russia–Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum, on July 28, 2023, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Getty Images)
United States President Donald Trump takes part in a welcoming ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping on November 9, 2017, in Beijing, China. (Thomas Peter via Getty Images)
Japan Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Shohei Ishii (right) and Philippine Coast Guard Chief of Staff Commodore Joeven Fabul (left) take part in arrival honors at the Philippine Coast Guard headquarters on November 4, 2023, in Manila, Philippines, as the countries seek to bolster military ties after tensions escalated between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. (Ezra Acayan via Getty Images)