In his year-end speech, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi praised his ministry's performance in eastern Ladakh, saying that China and India "effectively managed and controlled" border frictions. Wang's comment comes amid a continuing border dispute in eastern Ladakh between the two countries. Following a violent conflict in the Pangong lake regions on May 5, last year, the border standoff between India and China erupted, and both sides steadily increased their deployment by bringing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy equipment. The two parties concluded the withdrawal process in the Gogra area in August and the north and south banks of the Pangong lake in February as a result of a series of diplomatic and military negotiations. On July 31, the two parties held their 12th round of negotiations.