Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shakes hands with Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on May 4, 2026. (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
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)
Trailers with launchers for guided missiles of a German Patriot air defense system stand on a snow-covered field in southeastern Poland on April 3, 2023. (Getty Images)
An F-35 model lies on a flight planner during flight operations aboard the USS Boxer in the US Central Command area of responsibility on July 8, 2026. (US Marines)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers a speech during the Defense Industry Forum held as part of the 36th NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkiye, on July 7, 2026. (Getty Images)
Taiwanese Army M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) vehicles launch projectiles during a live-fire training exercise in Taichung on June 10, 2026. (Getty Images)
The Chinese national flag flies above a China Customs building with stacks of shipping containers from global carriers on April 15, 2026, in Shenzhen, China. (Getty Images)
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks as he hosts a state banquet for President Donald Trump at the Great Hall of the People on May 14, 2026, in Beijing, China. (Getty Images)