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)
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan attends talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People on November 2, 2018 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Thomas Peter-Pool/Getty Images)
A PLA Navy fleet including the aircraft carrier Liaoning, vessels and fighter jets take part in a drill in April 2018 in the South China Sea. (Photo by VCG)
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne speaks at a news conference with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on November 8, 2018 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Thomas Peter-Pool/Getty Images)
U.S. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping speak during a joint statement in Beijing on November 9, 2017. (Photo credit: NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images)