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)
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen shakes hands with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng prior to a meeting on April 6, 2024, in Guangzhou, China. (Ken Ishii via Getty Images)
The first of two Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors is launched during a successful intercept test on September 10, 2013. (Missile Defense Agency photo)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov welcomes the Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui at the Russian Foreign Ministry headquarters in Moscow, Russia, on May 26, 2023. (Photo by Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)