China confirms 2 sailors died in 2025 South China Sea collision

Beijing has quietly confirmed the deaths of two Chinese sailors in a collision in the contested South China Sea, according to government statements nearly a year after the incident.

This handout video grab released and taken on August 11, 2025 by the Philippine Coast Guard shows an incident between a Chinese Navy vessel (L) and a Chinese Coast Guard ship (R). Photo by Handout/Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

Last August, a Chinese navy vessel collided with one from its own coast guard while chasing a Philippine patrol boat near a disputed shoal, video footage released by Manila showed.

A Chinese Coast Guard spokesperson confirmed at the time that there had been a confrontation, but did not mention the collision, nor injuries or deaths.

The People’s Armed Police Force said on social media Wednesday it had awarded four “martyrs” — including Coast Guard sailors Yi Xinyu and Cheng Long — a special title for “steadfast political convictions, exemplary deeds and outstanding achievements”.

Yi and Cheng both died on August 11, 2025 — the date of last year’s collision — in a “rights defense operation”, according to their profiles on the government’s “China Martyrs Network”.

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

Cheng “heroically sacrificed his life during a maritime rights defense operation”, the website reads.

Territorial claims in the South China Sea. Photo: Wikicommons.

It is not clear when the sailors were given the designation of “martyr”, which awards their families special housing and medical support among other aid.

Yi was 21 years old at the time of his death, and Cheng was 25, according to their profiles on the website.

Territorial disputes  have seen China and the Philippines clash repeatedly in the South China Sea, almost all of which Beijing claims as its territory.

Filipino and Chinese sailors clashed again in the disputed waters in July in what was their first serious encounter in months and saw both sides summon each other’s ambassadors.