China confirms first deaths in South China Sea clash in decades - The Straits Times

This is the first confirmed Chinese military fatalities from a South China Sea incident in decades, signalling a shift in Beijing's tolerance for kinetic confrontation over territorial claims. For Australia, the precedent of escalated force use in the South China Sea raises the temperature in the Indo-Pacific and increases the risk profile of Taiwan contingencies, to which Australia's defence posture and alliance commitments are directly tied.