China acknowledges death of two sailors in 2025 collision incident

Beijing has confirmed two fatalities a year after a collision incident between its ships while chasing a Philippine boat at the contested South China Sea.

China’s People’s Armed Police Force (FAP) honored the two sailors as “martyrs” for their sacrifice in defending the country’s interests during the incident last August 11, 2025.

First official confirmation

In a social media post, the FAP bestowed Coast Guard sailors Yi Xinyu and Cheng Long with honors for their “steadfast political convictions, exemplary deeds and outstanding achievements.”

“Yi sacrificed his life… while participating in a frontline rights defense operation in the South China Sea,” the announcement reads.

While the Chinese government has not released details about the death, Beijing maintained that the sailors died during a maritime operation aimed at protecting the country’s interests.

Yi was 21, and Cheng was 25 when they died. It is unclear if the two sailors were officially given with the exemplary title of martyr from which their families will receive government assistance, including housing and medical support.

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August collision incident

The incident involved a People’s Liberation Army Navy Type 052D guided-missile ship and a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) cutter.

The two vessels were chasing a 44.5-metre Parola-class boat of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) during their operations at the South China Sea. The high-speed chase occurred about 10.5 nautical miles east of Scarborough Shoal.

The Chinese warship ripped off the bow of the CCG cutter, as shown in the photos published by the media.

At the time, reports already surfaced that two Chinese sailors died from the incident, but Beijing was mum about confirming the fatalities until a year later.

Despite the Scarborough Shoal being within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone of Manila, the two countries have had multiple standoffs since 2012 in the area.

Lin Jian, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, defended the presence of the Chinese ship in the area, stating that it was the Philippines that infringed on China’s sovereignty.

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