China Confirms Two Fatalities in 2025 South China Sea Collision Between Coast Guard and PLA Navy

On August 11, 2025, China Coast Guard servicemembers Yi Xinyu, 21, and Cheng Long, 25, died in the South China Sea. For nearly a year, their deaths went unacknowledged by Beijing, absent from official readouts and state media broadcasts following a high-profile maritime confrontation near Scarborough Shoal. That silence ended this week when the People's Armed Police Force, which oversees the Coast Guard, posthumously designated both men as martyrs.[1][2]

The honorary title is awarded to Chinese citizens who lose their lives advancing national interests. According to profiles published on the government-run China Martyrs Network, both sailors sacrificed their lives during a frontline rights defense operation. The date of their deaths perfectly aligns with a documented, severe collision between a Chinese Coast Guard cutter and a People's Liberation Army Navy destroyer.[2][3][4]

The incident represents the first confirmed Chinese fatalities resulting from a clash in the contested South China Sea since April 2001, when a military pilot died following a mid-air collision with a United States reconnaissance aircraft. While Beijing frequently reports on its successful maritime patrols, it maintains a strict, low-profile approach regarding military or paramilitary casualties.[1]

The fatal sequence of events began as Philippine Coast Guard vessels, including the BRP Suluan and Teresa Magbanua, escorted a supply ship near the disputed Scarborough Shoal. Chinese forces, asserting territorial claims over the area, moved to intercept the convoy. The China Coast Guard cutter CCG 3104 deployed water cannons and initiated a high-speed pursuit, approaching the BRP Suluan from astern.[2][3]

As the pursuit intensified, the PLA Navy Type 052D destroyer Guilin, bearing hull number 164, attempted to cut off the Philippine vessel by crossing sharply from its starboard side. The BRP Suluan accelerated to evade the maneuver, successfully moving out of danger.[2][3]

However, the Philippine vessel's evasion placed the PLA Navy destroyer directly in the path of the accelerating China Coast Guard cutter. Unable to alter course in time, CCG 3104 rammed bow-first into the destroyer's hull with a loud crash, an impact captured on video by Philippine authorities.[2][3]

The collision caused substantial damage to the Coast Guard vessel, crumpling its bow by approximately 30 feet and rendering it immediately inoperable. While the destroyer sustained a dented hull, it remained functional. Satellite imagery captured weeks later showed the damaged Coast Guard cutter undergoing extensive repairs at a facility on Hainan Island.[1][2][6]

At the time of the incident, a Chinese Coast Guard spokesperson confirmed that a confrontation had occurred but omitted any mention of a collision between its own vessels, let alone injuries or deaths. Manila's foreign ministry denied any responsibility for the crash, describing the event as an unfortunate outcome of dangerous maneuvers by Chinese forces.[4][5][6]

The term rights defense, cited in the martyrs' profiles, is standard nomenclature used by Beijing to describe operations enforcing its expansive maritime claims. These claims encompass almost the entirety of the South China Sea, overlapping significantly with the exclusive economic zones of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations.[2][4]

Analysts note that the deployment of both white-hulled Coast Guard ships and gray-hulled Navy destroyers in the same interception operation reflects China's integrated approach to maritime dominance. However, the fatal miscalculation highlights the inherent tactical risks of coordinating multiple large vessels in aggressive, close-quarters maneuvers.[2][6]

The decision to quietly confirm the deaths a year later through the China Martyrs Network, rather than a formal defense ministry announcement, aligns with Beijing's careful management of domestic messaging. The designation ensures the sailors' families receive specialized housing, medical support, and state benefits, while keeping the geopolitical spotlight relatively dim.[1][3][4][6]

As regional tensions persist, with subsequent clashes occurring as recently as July 2026, the Scarborough Shoal incident serves as a stark marker of the stakes involved. It demonstrates that the gray-zone tactics defining the South China Sea dispute carry lethal consequences, even when weapons remain unfired.[1][4]