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 quality inspector checks crankshafts at a factory that produces the mechanical component for the domestic market and export in Binzhou, China, on December 10, 2024. (Getty Images)
Quad Alliance Foreign Ministers pose for a group photo at the Japan's prime minister office in Tokyo, Japan on July 29, 2024. (Zuma Press / Rodrigo Reyes Marin / Pool/Anadolu via Getty Images)
China’s President Xi Jinping and Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni greet people at Phnom Penh International Airport as Beijing seeks to strengthen regional trade ties and offset the impact US tariffs. (Getty Images)