Was it a confrontation on the high seas, or just a routine but unplanned interaction between warships sailing in international waters?There are varying accounts within defence circles over just how stern a recent encounter in the South China Sea was between the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the People's Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N).The Defence Department still won't even formally confirm that the five Australian warships interacted with the Chinese military but has insisted that "unplanned interactions with foreign warships throughout the deployment were conducted in a safe and professional manner".According to one senior official the Chinese were "exceedingly polite" as they reminded the Australians they were coming close to the Spratly Islands which have been heavily fortified by China in recent times.It's by no means the first time the ADF has been challenged by the Chinese in the area, but the encounter comes during a period of escalating security and diplomatic tensions between Australia and its largest economic partner.Now Australia has dramatically raised the stakes in its already troubled relationship with China by backing the United States in Australian National University International law expert Professor Donald Rothwell believes the move is significant and will prompt a furious response from Beijing. Trump's own words suggest otherwiseFILE - In this July 6, 2020, file photo provided by U.S. Navy, the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76, front) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68, rear) Carrier Strike Groups sail together in formation, in the South China Sea. China is holding another round of military drills in the South China Sea amid an uptick in such activity in the area highlighting growing tensions. The submarine was located near Hainan Island – a strategically significant territory off the south coast of China. Fishermen aboard threw gasoline bombs and tried to ram their vessel. "RFA's report claimed the scene "hints at how China can marshal considerable undersea power on the doorstep of the disputed Yulin Naval Base on Hainan Island is normally a hive of submarine activity.The most recent image on Google Maps, for example, shows three submarines – two ballistic missile carriers and one smaller attack type – tied up at the open piers.This isn't the first time a base of this type has been discovered, though.Building was commenced on another base, worth £230million, in 2017 which aims to help President Xi Jinping quell US opposition by increasing Chinese control of the contested waters.Security experts believe it could take the form of an underwater spy hub, equipped with trackers which could help locate US warships and submarines.Jian Zhimin, dean of School of Marine and Earth Sciences, Tongji University said: “The devices will be placed down on the seabed through optical cables, in other words, build a laboratory undersea to collect and send data back to us.”It will be capable of around-the-clock, real-time, high-definition, multiple interface and 3D observations.Security expert at the University of New South Wales, Carl Thayer, warned that the base will be a threat to US forces.He said: “This would be of direct concern to the United States and other regional states that operate submarines.”A source close to the Chinese military said today that an “aircraft-carrier killer” and one other missile were launched into the South China Sea as a warning to the US.One of the missiles, a DF-26B, was launched from the northwestern province of Qinghai, while the other, a DF-21D, lifted off from Zhejiang, a province in the east of the country.The move represents a drastic escalation in an already fragile standoff between two of the world's biggest nuclear powers.Both missiles targeted between Hainan province and the Paracel Islands according to Beijing's forces, areas contested by smaller nations such as Vietnam and Taiwan. Not quite, but stone fruit growers fear coronavirus glut may spoil prices'Please come home': Wife of missing Queensland vet pleads for his safe return after livestock ship capsizes'Seismic' shift on the way as next-generation farmers take the reinsSilas is trying to get his country restaurant back up and running, but he can't find enough workersJoe Biden speaks with Jacob Blake as Trump threatens to defund 'anarchist' cities