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)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong shake hands during a signing ceremony in Moscow on October 1, 2014. (KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images)
Investors watch a digital screen displaying the prices of China's stock market on January 5, 2015 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province of China. (ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers during a reporting trip to the Third Guard Division of the PLA on July 28, 2009 in Beijing, China. (Feng Li/Getty Images)
Members of the Chinese Army honor guard march at an arrival ceremony at Bayi Building January 10, 2011 in Beijing, China. (Larry Downing-Pool/Getty Images)