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)
Vladimir Putin and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev during the Russian-Uzbek signing ceremony at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit on September 15, 2022, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. (Contributor/Getty Images)
Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong attends a meeting with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on September 20, 2017. (Lintao Zhanf/AFP via Getty Images)
Xi Jinping leaves the podium in Hong Kong at a celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China. (Selim Chtayti/AFP via Getty Images)
An Apple Store at a usually bustling intersection in a popular shopping district after recent COVID-19 outbreaks on May 23, 2022, in Beijing, China. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)