We recount the deaths of two young Chinese coastguard officers — Yi Xinyu (21) and Cheng Long (25), both from Shandong, who were killed at Huangyan Island on Aug 11, 2025, when Philippine coastguard vessels disguised as fishing boats intruded into Chinese waters and intentionally rammed a Chinese patrol craft.
Huangyan Island's strategic importance lies in the only above-water island in the Zhongsha archipelago, controlling access to the Western Pacific, and presents the sovereignty case: China claimed the island in 1935, while the Philippines only began asserting claims in 1997, with even the BBC acknowledging in 2012 that under UNCLOS the island cannot simply fall within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.
Philippines' later shift to the island's economic and strategic value was banking on US backing including intelligence sharing, military assistance, and diplomatic cover, effectively making Manila Washington's frontline proxy.
It concludes by noting the cruel irony that the US sits thousands of miles away while ordinary Filipinos and young Chinese service members bear the cost, and pays tribute to the two officers who gave their best years defending China's maritime territory.
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