SANSHA, Hainan - A China Marine Surveillance (CMS) detachment was officially stationed in the nation's southernmost city of Sansha on Saturday.

Yang Zhong, deputy head of the detachment, said the team will carry out regular patrolling and observation missions including the management of maritime space and protection of marine ecology and islands.

"It means CMS has enhanced its administrative management of the Sansha waters, and effectively covered the whole South China Sea," said Zhang Weijian, an official with CMS's South Sea fleet.

As China's youngest city, Sansha was officially set up in July last year on Yongxing Island in the South China Sea. The city administers three island groups -- Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha -- and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea.