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)
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang accompanies Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to view an honour guard during a welcoming ceremony on March 20, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Lintao Zhang/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)
Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Macron, and German Chancellor Merkel attend the closing ceremony of a global governance forum in Paris, France, March 26, 2019. (Getty Images)
Japanese Prime Minister and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Shinzo Abe arrives for an event held before the party's annual convention on February 10, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. (Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)
An F-16 fighter pulls up in a steep climb during rehearsals for a public airshow at the military airbase in Taitung on July 9, 2018. (CHRIS STOWERS/AFP/Getty Images)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pictured during the meeting with Li Keqiang (not pictured), Prime Minister of China, on July 09, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. (Florian Gaertner/Getty Images)
Aircraft of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) fly in the sky during a drill on the second flight training day of the New Year at Liaodong Peninsula on January 3, 2019 in Liaoning Province of China. (VCG via Getty Images)