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)
US President Donald Trump greets South Korean President Lee Jae Myung as he arrives at the West Wing entrance of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 25, 2025. (Saul loab via Getty Images)
People pay tribute to the statues of late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang on February 16, 2025. (Kim Won Jin via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un following a meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi on February 27, 2019. (Getty Images)
President Donald J Trump speaks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House on February 7, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Jabin Botsford via Getty Images)
The opening meeting of the third session of the Fourteenth National People’s Congress is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 5, 2025. (Ding Haitao via Getty Images)