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)
The Pentagon, heaquarters of the US Department of Defense, is seen from the air on February 8, 2025, in Washington, DC. (J. David Ake via Getty Images)
People survey the scene following a blast in the Mar Elias Church on June 22, 2025, in Damascus, Syria. A suspected suicide bombing killed at least 20 people and injured 52 others who were attending a service at the church. (Ali Haj Suleiman via Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump waves as he greets Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba upon arrival outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 7, 2025. (Mandel Ngan via Getty Images)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Japan’s Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Ryosei Akazawa shake hands during a photo session as they arrive at the USA Pavilion on US National Day at the World Expo 2025 on July 19, 2025, in Osaka, Japan. (Tomohiro Ohsumi via Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev attend a welcoming ceremony prior to their talks at the Ak Orda Presidential Palace, on November 27, 2024, in Astana, Kazakhstan. (Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi walk for a photo-op before their meeting at Hyderabad House, Tuesday, February 25, 2020, in New Delhi, India. (Sondeep Shankar via Getty Images)
People walk in Registan Square in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on September 13, 2022, two days before the city hosted a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. (Alexander Nemenov via Getty Images)
A woman walks past a concrete shelter painted in the style of Ukrainian embroidered ornamentation on May 17, 2025, in Kherson, Ukraine. According to the city military administration, there are over 800 shelters of various types in Kherson. (Ivan Antypenko via Getty Images)