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)
Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, William Brent Christensen, and John C.C. Deng after a press conference about the United States-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue in Taipei, Taiwan, on November 21, 2020. (Ceng Shou Yi/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Soldiers hold US and Japanese flags during a welcome ceremony for Donald Trump and Melania Trump at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on May 27, 2019. (Brendan SmialowskiAFP via Getty Images)
An employee checks the production line of drink bottles at the workshop of Changji Baolong Packaging Technology Development Co., Ltd. on May 6, 2024, in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. (Tao Weiming/VCG via Getty Images)
Joe Biden and other leaders participate in a family photo during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Retreat summit in Lima, Peru, on November 16, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Antony Blinken and the US delegation sit opposite Japan's Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa during the "Extended Deterrence Ministerial Meeting" in Tokyo on July 28, 2024. (Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images)