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)
A police officer gestures in front of a propaganda billboard urging "the maintenance of rule of law in Xinjiang" in both Chinese and Uyghur languages in China's northwestern Xinjiang region on July 19, 2023. (Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images)
People attend the first Sunday mass in Aleppo, Syria, since the rebel forces deposed the Assad regime on December 15, 2024. (Burak Kara via Getty Images)
A crucifix is pictured outside the Syriac Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Aleppo, Syria, on December 12, 2024. (Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images)
Pope Francis and Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque Nasaruddin Umar pose for picture on September 5, 2024, in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Oscar Siagian via Getty Images)
The Chinese national flag flies in front of St Joseph’s Church, also known as Wangfujing Catholic Church, in Beijing on October 22, 2020. (Greg Baker via Getty Images)