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)
A pedestrian walks past a stock indicator board showing the share price of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on December 26, 2018. (KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images)
China's President Xi Jinping attends a Business Forum with Italian and Chinese businessmen at Quirinale Palace on March 22, 2019 in Rome, Italy. (Alessandra Benedetti - Corbis/Getty Images)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) speaks during a press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) at the Great Hall of the People on June 14, 2018 in Beijing, China. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Tonga's King Tupou VI (C) reviews a military honour guard with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcome ceremony in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 1, 2018. (GREG BAKER/AFP/Getty Images)