Why is the US suddenly scrambling to repair its relationship with India? US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit was meant to reassure one of the US’ most important Indo-Pacific partners at a time of growing uncertainty over Washington’s strategy in Asia. Coming just days after US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, Rubio used his meetings in New Delhi — including with the Quad foreign ministers — to emphasize India’s importance to US interests. But questions remain over whether the US can sustain trust after trade disputes, tensions over Pakistan and Trump’s softer tone toward Beijing. What do improving US-China relations mean for the Quad and the vision of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”? In this episode, we examine Rubio’s mission to India, the future of US-India ties and the evolving balance of power in Asia.
*Recorded on May 26, 2026 at 2:20pm Taiwan Standard Time
Host/Senior Producer: Yin Khvat
Consultant: George Nee
Planners: Betty Wang, Miguel Yang
Research Assistant: Ryan Pham
Our guests:
Sana Hashmi
- Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation Fellow
Cleo Paskal
- Foundation for Defense of Democracies Indo-Pacific Senior Fellow
Mukesh Kaushik
- Dainik Bhaskar Deputy Editor
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