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)
Sailors conduct helicopter rope suspension technique training from an MH-60S Sea Hawk on the flight deck aboard the USS Ronald Reagan in the Philippine Sea on October 29, 2022. (US Navy Photo by Michael B. Jarmiolowski)
US Marines load a CH-53E Super Stallion conduct an air-insertion during Resolute Dragon 22 in Hokkaido, Japan, on October 6, 2022. (US Marine Corps Photo by Scott Aubuchon)
Personnel from a West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare command operate an R80D SkyRaider drone during a training exercise on Saint Lawrence Island, Alaska, on September 13, 2022. (US Navy Photo by Alex Smedegard)
Aerial view of containers sitting stacked on a cargo ship berthed at Nansha Port on April 12, 2020, in Guangzhou, China. (He Weiming/VCG via Getty Images)
An F-35B Lightning II lands on the flight deck aboard amphibious assault carrier USS Tripoli in the Philippine Sea on September 12, 2022. (US Navy Photo by Malcolm Kelley)