Her assigned station was Hong Kong, where she arrived on 3 November. With infrequent voyages to Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines, "Fulton" patrolled the south China coast from Hong Kong to Canton until 14 March 1934. On that day, a fire broke out amidships when exhaust lines from two cylinders of a diesel engine carried away and ignited oil on the engine. The crew assembled on the bow and stern, and were taken off by the British destroyer and the merchant ship SS "Tsinan", three of the men having minor injuries, and brought to the Royal Navy Dockyard at Hong Kong. The British destroyer stood by the burning ship until a salvage party got the fire under sufficient control to allow her to be taken in tow for Junk Bay in Hong Kong. On 24 March, an American tug came to tow "Fulton" into Hong Kong, where she received emergency repairs to allow her to be towed to Cavite.