| (The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.)
India and China have agreed to a five-point course of action to reduce tensions on the Line of Actual Control. This consensus was reached at a meeting between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishnakar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow. The plan involves following the Modi-Xi consensus on not letting differences escalate to disputes, disengaging quickly, staying true to existing border protocols, and holding talks at various levels. The plan was announced at a joint press conference; however, both sides also held separate press conferences -- a standard signal in diplomacy that differences remain. Senior officials involved in the talks also confirmed to The Hindu that divergences on key issues remain, with India keeping peace at the border as a prerequisite for normal ties while China sought to separate the two. The Hindu's editorial today points out that all the points in the five-point plan have been rolled out at various times during the crises, without much effect. Even so, the arrival at an action plan is a step forward from the intransigence at the meeting between the Defence Ministers earlier. However, the implementation of the plan has again been left to the militaries on both sides, a level at which no headway has been made so far. The apparent diplomatic breakthrough, and the caveats around it, are what makes this story important. | 
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