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)
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Moscow, Russia, March 21, 2023. (Ding Haitao/Xinhua via Getty Images)
A Kongsberg naval strike missile is launched from the littoral combat ship USS Coronado during missile testing operations off the coast of Southern California. (US Navy photo by Zachary D. Bell)
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during the signing ceremony at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, on March 21, 2023. (Contributor via Getty Images)
Xi Jinping makes a public pledge of allegiance to the constitution at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on March 10, 2023. (Ju Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman al-Saud makes a speech during the forty-third Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on December 9, 2022. (Royal Court of Saudi Arabia/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)