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BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The following is a selection of remarks on maintaining peace in the South China Sea made by Chinese President Xi Jinping and a former state councilor. Xi is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

"The South China Sea islands have been China's territory since ancient times. It is the bounded duty of the Chinese government to uphold China's territorial sovereignty and legitimate maritime right and interests." (Excerpts from Xi's speech at the National University of Singapore in 2015)

"China will continue to seek resolution of the disputes through negotiations and consultations with countries directly involved on the basis of respecting historical facts and in accordance with international laws." (Excerpts from Xi's speech at the National University of Singapore in 2015)

China will work with Southeast Asian nations to make the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation. (Excerpts from Xi's speech at the opening ceremony of the fifth Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia held in Beijing in April, 2016)

"We in China would not be intimidated by the U.S. actions, not even if the United States sent all 10 aircraft carriers to the South China Sea." (Dai Bingguo, former Chinese state councilor, told a conference at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank in 2016)