A production line of the Glide, a high-altitude glider that delivers munitions across thousands of miles, is seen at the defense tech startup Mach Industries in Huntington Beach, California, on September 11, 2025. (Getty Images)
Rushan Abbas holds a photo of her sister, Uyghur doctor Gulshan Abbas, who is detained in China, during the “No Deals Without Freedom” protest at Lafayette Park on May 11, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)
Vice President JD Vance walks with Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir, and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on April 11, 2026, in Islamabad, Pakistan. (Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with President Donald Trump at the White House during his visit to Washington, DC, on July 28, 2026. (Getty Images)
A Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-35A Lightning II flies alongside two F-35A Lightning IIs and an F-16 Fighting Falcon of the US Air Force over the Pacific Ocean near Misawa Air Base in Japan on September 30, 2025. (US Air Force)
President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi talk during their summit meeting at the Akasaka Palace on October 28, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan. (Getty Images)
A Philippine Air Force Black Hawk helicopter lands on June 29, 2023, on Mavulis Island, which is the Philippines’ northernmost island and is roughly 88 miles from Taiwan. (Getty Images)
Senior lecturer in the Department of Security Studies and Criminology at Macquarie University, Council of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute