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 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)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Japan’s Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Ryosei Akazawa shake hands during a photo session as they arrive at the USA Pavilion on US National Day at the World Expo 2025 on July 19, 2025, in Osaka, Japan. (Tomohiro Ohsumi via 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 Japan Air Self-Defense Force held an F-35 aircraft delivery ceremony at Komatsu Air Base in Japan on April 26, 2025. (F-35 Joint Program Office via JASDF and DVIDS)
US President Donald Trump holds up a chart of "reciprocal tariffs" at the White House on April 2, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
United States and Japanese national flags are displayed outside Palace Hotel Tokyo on May 25, 2019, in Tokyo, Japan. (Tomohiro Ohsumi via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in the Oval Office in Washington, DC, on February 7, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump greets Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba upon arrival outside the White House in Washington, DC, on February 7, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Japan Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Shohei Ishii (right) and Philippine Coast Guard Chief of Staff Commodore Joeven Fabul (left) take part in arrival honors at the Philippine Coast Guard headquarters on November 4, 2023, in Manila, Philippines, as the countries seek to bolster military ties after tensions escalated between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. (Ezra Acayan via Getty Images)