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)
Taiwan's AAV7 amphibious assault vehicle surfaces from the sea during the Han Kuang military exercise, which simulates China's People's Liberation Army invading Pingtung, Taiwan, on July 28, 2022. (Annabelle Chih via Getty Images)
A view of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, which was previously the office of the governor-general of Taiwan during Japanese colonial rule. (Walid Berrazeg/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Honor guards take part in a welcome ceremony for Paraguay's President Mario Abdo Benitez and Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei, Taiwan, on February 16, 2023. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)
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)
Chiang Wan-an, Taipei mayoral candidate of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), celebrates his victory in local elections on November 26, 2022, in Taipei, Taiwan. (Louise Delmotte/Getty Images)