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)
Indonesian President Joko Widodo meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Jakarta, Indonesia, on February 22, 2023. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China)
US Marines with Fighter Attack Squadron 312 prepare F/A-18 Hornets to take off for flight from Łask Air Base in Poland on April 27, 2022. (US Marine Corps photo by Adam Henke)
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne at the US Department of State, in Washington, DC, on September 15, 2021. (State Department photo by Ron Przysucha)
The Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Tulsa approaches the dry cargo ship USNS Amelia Earhart for a replenishment in the South China Sea on February 19, 2022. (US Navy photo by Devin M. Langer)
An F-16 Fighting Falcon lands at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany on April 30, 2022, after a three-month rotational deployment at Fetesti Air Base in Romania. (US Air Force photo by Anthony Plyler)
The Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system intercepts rockets fired by Hamas in the sky above the Gaza Strip on May 14, 2021. (Anas Baba/AFP via Getty Images)
Australian soldiers render honor as Australian Deputy Prime Minister of Defense Richard Marles meets with Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on July 13, 2022. (US Army photo by Mr. Leroy Council)