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)
Uncrewed aerial vehicles equipped with specialized software and sensors fly during the Technical Concept Experiment 23.2 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California on January 19, 2024. (US Navy photo by Michael Walls)
Ukrainian soldiers of the 79th brigade in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine, on March 12, 2024. (Photo by Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Visitors at TikTok's stand at the Appliance and Electronics World Expo in Shanghai, China, on April 27, 2023. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
President Joe Biden greets President Xi Jinping before a meeting in Woodside, California, on November 15, 2023. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
South Korean military drones fly in formation during a South Korea–US joint military drill at Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, South Korea, on May 25, 2023. (Yelim LEE / AFP via Getty Images)
Ukrainian soldiers receive training at an undisclosed location in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on March 6, 2024. (Photo by Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Pakistani President Arif Alvi administers the oath to newly sworn-in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 4, 2024. (Pakistan President House/AFP via Getty Images)