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)
An investor walks past a screen showing stock market movements at a securities firm in Hangzhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang province on January 11, 2016. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)
Three A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft fly in formation over Tucson, Ariz., during an air refueling training mission, April 14, 2006. (Senior Airman Christina D. Ponte/DefenseLINK/Released)
A long-range ground-based interceptor is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and intercepted an intermediate-range ballistic missile target launched from the U.S. Army’s Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll, June 22, 2014. (MDA/Released)
Thailand's Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn walks in the procession during the royal cremation of Princess Galyani Vadhana in Bangkok, Thailand on November 15, 2008. (Patrick AVENTURIER/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte (R) by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping before a signing ceremony in Beijing on October 20, 2016. (NG HAN GUAN/AFP/Getty Images)
US President Barack Obama (L) speaking during a press conference in Hangzhou, China, and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (R) speaking during a press conference in Davao City, the Philippines, September 5, 2016. (SAUL LOEB,MANMAN DEJETO/AFP/Getty Imag