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)
Taiwanese honour guards perform during the Taiwan National Day celebrations, in Taipei, Taiwan, on October 10, 2024. (Daniel Ceng/Anadolu via Getty Images)
An image of an electronic wafer is displayed at the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Museum of Innovation in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on November 21, 2024. (I-Hwa Cheng/AFP via Getty Images)
United States and Japanese national flags are displayed outside Palace Hotel Tokyo on May 25, 2019, in Tokyo, Japan. (Tomohiro Ohsumi via Getty Images)
An illustration shows the Xiaomi logo displayed on a smartphone with the stock price chart in background in Chongqing, China, on April 1, 2025. (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
A South Korean Army K1E1 tank crosses a pontoon bridge on the Imjin River during a joint river- crossing exercise as part of the Freedom Shield military drills with US and ROK forces in the border town of Yeoncheon, South Korea, on March 20, 2025. (Getty Images)
A flag-raising ceremony is held during the launching ceremony of China's first Type 076 new-generation amphibious assault ship, the Sichuan, on December 27, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (Pu Haiyang/VCG via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in the Oval Office in Washington, DC, on February 7, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)