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)
A protester raises a placard during a demonstration to condemn China's aggression in the disputed South China Sea in front of the Chinese Consulate in Makati, Metro Manila, on February 6, 2024. (Jam Sta Rosa/AFP and Getty Images)
Supporters of Taiwan's Vice President and president-elect from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Lai Ching-te wait for him to speak at the party's headquarters on January 13, 2024, in Taipei, Taiwan. (Annice Lyn via Getty Images)
Supporters cheer under a huge flag of Taiwan during an election campaign rally of Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih in New Taipei City on January 12, 2024. (Alastair Pike/AFP via Getty Images)
Democratic Progressive Party's presidential candidate Lai Ching-te and Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen cheer at the end of the campaign rally on January 11, 2024, in Taipei City, Taiwan. (Annabelle Chih via Getty Images)