MANILA, Philippines — Nearly a year after a dramatic pursuit near Bajo de Masinloc ended with two Chinese vessels crashing into each other, Beijing has finally acknowledged a detail it left out of its original account: two of its sailors died.
The revelation has cast fresh attention on the August 11, 2025 confrontation in the West Philippine Sea, where a Chinese naval vessel and a China Coast Guard ship collided while pursuing a Philippine government boat near the disputed Scarborough Shoal.
At the time, footage released by Philippine authorities captured the extraordinary moment when the Chinese ships appeared to slam into each other during the high-speed encounter.
China publicly acknowledged that a confrontation had occurred but did not disclose any fatalities from the incident.
Now, Chinese government records indicate that Coast Guard personnel Yi Xinyu, 21, and Cheng Long, 25, died on the same day as the collision while taking part in what Beijing described as a maritime “rights defense operation” in the South China Sea.
The confirmation surfaced after China’s People’s Armed Police Force announced that four personnel, including Yi and Cheng, had been honored as “martyrs” for their service and sacrifice.
According to profiles published on the Chinese government’s “China Martyrs Network,” Yi lost his life while participating in a frontline maritime operation, while Cheng was similarly described as having died during a mission to defend China’s claimed maritime rights.
The statements did not explicitly detail how the two men died.
But the date listed for their deaths — August 11, 2025 — matches the day Philippine authorities reported that a Chinese navy ship collided with a China Coast Guard vessel during the pursuit of a Philippine patrol boat near Bajo de Masinloc.
That coincidence has effectively provided the clearest official confirmation yet that the confrontation had deadly consequences for the Chinese side.
WHAT BEIJING DIDN’T SAY
Immediately after the incident, China’s Coast Guard released its version of events and acknowledged the encounter with Philippine vessels.
What it did not mention was the spectacular collision between its own ships shown in video released by Manila — or whether anyone aboard had been killed or injured.
For months, the fate of the Chinese personnel remained publicly unclear.
The latest government disclosures now raise questions over why information about the deaths was not revealed when the confrontation first drew international attention.
The “martyr” designation in China is reserved for individuals officially recognized for dying in service to the state and can entitle surviving family members to government benefits, including assistance involving housing and medical care.
It remains unclear exactly when Yi and Cheng were formally granted the distinction.
DEADLY COST OF A WEST PH SEA PURSUIT
The collision became one of the most striking episodes in the continuing maritime tensions between Manila and Beijing.
Philippine authorities said the Chinese vessels were maneuvering against a Philippine boat when the two Chinese ships collided near Scarborough Shoal, a flashpoint claimed by both countries.
The incident unfolded amid increasingly aggressive encounters involving water cannons, blocking maneuvers and dangerous close-range operations in contested waters.
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea despite overlapping claims by the Philippines and several other Southeast Asian nations.
Manila refers to portions falling within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and maritime jurisdiction as the West Philippine Sea.
ONE YEAR LATER, THE FULLER PICTURE EMERGES
Beijing’s belated acknowledgment changes the picture surrounding one of the most dramatic confrontations of 2025.
What initially appeared to be another dangerous chase in disputed waters was apparently far more serious: a maritime operation that ended not only with China’s own vessels colliding, but with two young Chinese sailors losing their lives.
And nearly one year later, that deadly detail has finally emerged — not from China’s original account of the confrontation, but through honors quietly bestowed on the men who never came home.