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 Iranian-made surface-to-surface missile is displayed next to the Azadi tower during a rally to mark the forty-forth anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution on February 11, 2023. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Iranian-Christian people at the Saint Gregory church during the New Year mass prayer ceremony in Tehran, January 1, 2023. (Morteza Nikoubazl via Getty Images)
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Joe Biden shake hands at the start of the first plenary session of the NATO summit in Madrid on June 29, 2022. (Gabriel Bouys/AFP via Getty Images)
Reform supporters wrapped in Israeli flags look on during a pro-reform demonstration in front of the Knesset, Jerusalem, on April 27, 2023. (Matan Golan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Mohammed bin Salman greets Bashar Al Assad ahead of the 32nd Arab League Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on May 19, 2023. (Bandar Aljaloud/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Afghan people stand with food aid being distributed by a non-governmental organisation at a gymnasium in Kabul on January 17, 2023. (Wakil Koshar/AFP via Getty Images)