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)
Military vehicles carry DF-10 ship launched cruise missiles, drive past the Tiananmen Gate on September 3, 2015 in Beijing, China. (Andy Wong - Pool /Getty Images)
US Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo attend a welcome ceremony at the Pentagon on April 1, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)
President Donald Trump and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu (R) show members of the media the proclamation recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over Golan Heights on March 25, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and France's President Emmanuel Macron (R) talk to each other prior to pose for a family photo on March 22, 2019 in Brussels at the end of an EU summit focused on Brexit. (LUDOVIC MARIN/Getty Images)