Caption
An aerial view of a container ship arriving at the Port of Oakland on October 10, 2025, in Oakland, California. (Getty Images)
China
China
Caption
A Royal Australian Air Force F-35A Lightning II conducts a flypast over HMAS Sydney during Exercise Tasman Shield on March 28, 2023. (Photo via Australian Government Defense)
Caption
The People's Liberation Army and the PLA Navy conduct a live-fire drill in Zhangzhou, China, on August 24, 2022. (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Caption
Taiwan's AAV7 amphibious assault vehicle surfaces from the sea during the Han Kuang military exercise, which simulates China's People's Liberation Army invading Pingtung, Taiwan, on July 28, 2022. (Annabelle Chih via Getty Images)
Caption
An aerial view of the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on May 11, 2021. (DOD photo by Brittany A. Chase)
Caption
A Lithuanian Mi-8 helicopter participating in the NATO Iron Wolf military exercises on October 26, 2022, in Pabrade, Lithuania. (Sean Gallup via Getty Images)
Caption
A US Navy boatswain’s mate launches a US Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II aircraft off the amphibious assault carrier USS Tripoli in the Pacific Ocean on June 13, 2022. (US Marine Corps photo by Jackson Ricker)
Caption
Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on February 5, 2023. (Tyler Thompson via DVIDS)
Caption
(Screenshot via YouTube)
Experts
Alexander Aibel
Research Associate
Alexander Benard
Adjunct Fellow
Patrick M. Cronin
Asia-Pacific Security Chair
Bill Drexel
Fellow
