The 45001 China fishery administration ship, from the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, returned to Beihai port on Sunday.

The ship had been on a 54-day operation defending the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea.

The ship left Beihai port on March 6. This is the third occasion that the Guangxi fishery administration has successfully carried out operations in waters off the Nansha Islands, about 200 hours sailing time away, since 2010.

The ship has driven away foreign vessels 12 times and participated in rescue and assistance missions for Chinese fishing ships five times.