A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force mid-range multi-purpose missile is fired during a live-fire exercise at the East Fuji Maneuver Area on June 7, 2026, in Gotemba, Japan. (Getty Images)
The flag used by the Taliban's interim government is seen over Afghanistan’s embassy in Moscow on July 4, 2025, after Russia officially recognized the Taliban government in Afghanistan. (Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping greet each other during a welcoming ceremony of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin on August 31, 2025. (Getty Images)
Chinese honor guards participate in a welcome ceremony in Tianjin, China, on August 31, 2025, as Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. (Vladimir Smirnov via Getty Images)
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
Indian army convoy carrying reinforcements and supplies, drive towards Leh, on a highway bordering China, on September 2, 2020 in Gagangir, India. (Yawar Nazir via Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump listens as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House on February 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong via Getty Images)
Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a budget committee meeting during an extraordinary session at the Lower House of the Diet on August 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (Tomohiro Ohsumi via Getty Images)
A man walks past Taiwanese flags on Democracy Boulevard at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei on October 15, 2024. (I-Hwa Cheng via Getty Images)