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)
US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks to the press following the NATO summit on June 25, 2025, in The Hague, Netherlands. (Andrew Harnik via Getty Images)
Delegates vote at the closing ceremony of the Twentieth National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People on October 22, 2022, in Beijing, China. (Lintao Zhang via Getty Images)
President Xi Jinping attending the opening ceremony of the National People's Congress on March 5, 2025, in Beijing, China. (The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)
Russia's President Vladimir Putin shakes hands Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang during the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg on June 20, 2025. (Dmitry Lovetsky via Getty Images)
The opening meeting of the third session of the Fourteenth National People’s Congress is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 5, 2025. (Ding Haitao via Getty Images)