Joselito Malig

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17860873174601767070077658Screen Shot 2025-12-30 at 12.47.14 PM (4).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A China Coast Guard vessel fires water cannon at a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) ship, August 11, 2025 near the Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal. <em>Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News/File</em><br/></span></span></span></div><p>BEIJING, China — 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.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/11/2-chinese-ships-collide-after-chasing-philippine-vessel-in-bajo-de-masinloc-pcg-1102">2 Chinese vessels collide while chasing Philippine boat in Bajo de Masinloc: PCG</a></div><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>The People&#x27;s Armed Police Force said on social media Wednesday it had awarded four &quot;martyrs&quot; -- including Coast Guard sailors Yi Xinyu and Cheng Long -- a special title for &quot;steadfast political convictions, exemplary deeds and outstanding achievements&quot;.</p><p>Yi and Cheng both died on August 11, 2025 -- the date of last year&#x27;s collision -- in a &quot;rights defense operation&quot;, according to their profiles on the government&#x27;s &quot;China Martyrs Network&quot;.</p><p>&quot;Yi sacrificed his life... while participating in a frontline rights defense operation in the South China Sea,&quot; according to the website.</p><p>Cheng &quot;heroically sacrificed his life during a maritime rights defense operation&quot;, the website reads.</p><p>It is not clear when the sailors were given the designation of &quot;martyr&quot;, which awards their families special housing and medical support among other aid.</p><p>Yi was 21 years old at the time of his death, and Cheng was 25, according to their profiles on the website.</p><p>Territorial disputes  have seen China and the Philippines clash repeatedly in the South China Sea, almost all of which Beijing claims as its territory.</p><p>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&#x27;s ambassadors.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><strong></strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jVaxuxWGPOo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>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.</p>

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.

China confirms sailors died in 2025 West PH Sea collision while chasing PH boat

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China confirms sailors died in 2025 West PH Sea collision while chasing PH boat

Agence France-Presse

Published August 07, 2026 03:22 PM PHT

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Updated August 07, 2026 05:25 PM PHT

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Beijing

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south china sea

west philippine sea

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