China has announced that it is slowing construction work on disputed islands. China claims that the Spratly islands are Chinese territory. China firmly states that the Japanese illegally occupied these islands and at the end of WW2 China retook these islands in a joint operation with the US. China has also publicly stated that large scale construction was not initiated by China but by Vietnam and the Philippines in the 1980's. Thus, China has sovereignty over these islands and that China has been infringed upon. Nevertheless, China is willing to cooperate and dialogue for a peaceful settlement to this disagreement.
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