Rubio expected to brief New Delhi on Xi-Trump summit during India trip

US Secretary of State arrives on Saturday for four-day visit, with relations between the two countries strained and continuing to fluctuate

China-India relationsChinaDiplomacyRubio expected to brief New Delhi on Xi-Trump summit during India tripUS Secretary of State arrives on Saturday for four-day visit, with relations between the two countries strained and continuing to fluctuate4-MIN READ4-MINListen

Rubio expected to brief New Delhi on Xi-Trump summit during India trip

WhenMarco Rubiowas confirmed as US Secretary of State last year, fireworks of optimism went off in New Delhi. Given his years as a senator championing a pro-India, staunchly anti-China posture, policymakers anticipated an unprecedented alignment.

However, as Rubio arrives inIndiaon Saturday for a four-day visit spanning Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur and New Delhi, he enters a relationship strained by transactional politics, structural deadlock and mounting strategic unease over Washington’s recent moves.

While the Indian Embassy in Washington has hailed Rubio’s trip as a “new chapter” in bilateral ties, Rubio’s first visit to India as US PresidentDonald Trump’stop diplomat and national security adviser is expected to focus largely on damage control.

That includes briefing Indo Pacific partner New Delhi on Trump’s high-stakes summit with Chinese PresidentXi Jinpingearlier this month, an event that left India rather prominently on the outside looking in.

Immediately after concluding histalks with Xi on May 13-15, Trump phoned Japanese Prime MinisterSanae Takaichifrom Air Force One to provide a direct, high-level briefing.

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Source: News - South China Morning Post