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)
Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong attends a meeting with other QUAD leaders on September 23, 2022. (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, at the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, on November 15, 2022. (James Brickwood/Sydney Morning Herald via Getty Images)
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ramage flies the battle ensign during a formation transit as part of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group on October 25, 2022, in the Atlantic Ocean. (US Navy photo by Sawyer Connally)
Members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force disembark from a US Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey as part of joint military drill Operation Keen Sword in Kumamoto, Japan, on November 16, 2022. (Marine Corps photo by Justin Marty)
Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS Hyūga launches an MH-60J Seahawk helicopter during training in the Philippine Sea on January 21, 2022. (DVIDS photo by Jeremy Faller)