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 Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu at a meeting ceremony in North Korea on July 25, 2023. (Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation via Wikimedia Commons)
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng pose for photographs before their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on August 29, 2023. (Andy Wong/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, US President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio arrive for a joint news conference following three-way talks at Camp David on August 18, 2023, in Camp David, Maryland. (Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
US President Joe Biden, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol greet each other ahead of a trilateral meeting during the G7 leaders' summit in Hiroshima on May 21, 2023. (Brendan Smiakiwski/AFP via Getty Images)