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 Ukrainian anti-aircraft squadron guards the skies along the front lines in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on October 19, 2024. (Fermin Torrano/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Soldiers take part in the combat shooting exercises of the Lithuanian army and the French-German brigade in Pabrade, Lithuania, on May 6, 2024. (Petras Malukas/AFP via Getty Images)
A serviceman of a mobile fire group of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine is on a mission in Odesa region, Ukraine, on October 10, 2024. (Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei awards the Order of Fat'h to Amir Ali Hajizadeh in Tehran, Iran, on October 6, 2024. (Iranian Leader Press Office/Anadolu via Getty Images)