In reality, the May 2020 détente between Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping over resolving the military tension in East Ladakh following the PLA transgression was a test of the NDA government’s resilience, the Indian Army’s tenacity and dedication under the most trying circumstances, and the full cooperation between Indian diplomacy and the military. Although both leaders behaved appropriately during the Modi-Xi meeting in Kazan, the delegation-level discussions cleared the path for a Special Representative Dialogue to negotiate the de-escalation of the military buildup along the 3488-kilometer Line of Actual Control, and the foreign ministers of both nations will set a course for normalizing relations.
Under the direction of the powerful inter-ministerial China Study Group, senior military commanders from the Corps to Division level and the interlocutors in the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs engaged in arduous diplomatic negotiations that resulted in the resumption of patrolling by both armies in the Depsang Bulge and Demchok areas of East Ladakh. Following the brutal battle at Galwan on June 15, 2020, the WMCC convened 17 times, while the military commanders convened 21 times to discuss disengagement and patrolling resumed.
