The State Oceanic Administration said on March 6 that three Chinese marine surveillance ships – Haijian 51, Haijian 23 and Haijian 27 - were patrolling in the waters near the Diaoyu Islands.

A statement released by the administration on its website said that during the patrol the fleet declared the Chinese government's stance regarding the Diaoyu Islands to Japanese ships that illegally entered the waters and asked them to leave the waters immediately.

China has carried out consistent patrols in the waters near the Diaoyu Islands since September when Tokyo released its plan to nationalize three of the islands. The State Oceanic Administration will release information on the recent or ongoing patrol to the public on its website.

Besides the consistent patrols in the waters of the Diaoyu Islands, a 16-day patrol of the South China Sea was just finished on March 5.