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)
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with President of Burkina Faso Ibrahim Traore during the Second Summit and Russia–Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum, on July 28, 2023, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Getty Images)
The flag of Somaliland is seen during a campaign rally of the main opposition party in Hargeisa, Somaliland, on November 8, 2024, ahead of the 2024 Somaliland presidential election. (Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images)
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech at the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing, China, on September 5, 2024. (Li Xueren/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Russia's President Putin and Burkina Faso's interim military president Traoré can be seen together on a poster with the slogan "Support for the transition" in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on March 5, 2024. (Christina Peters/picture alliance via Getty Images)