India, Oct. 22 -- If the secretary of State of the US, Marco Rubio, is to be believed, Washington is now keen on resuscitating Quad, a grouping New Delhi once saw as a West-facing platform to exert influence. Rubio hinted at Donald Trump's intent to get Quad roaring, with a potential meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in November, in an effort clearly aimed at mitigating some of the impacts of the US's foreign policy. Whether partners other than the US find merit in this move is another story.

To be sure, India and the US have common interests in the Asia-Pacific region but keep getting distracted by the noise elsewhere. Converging on the idea of limiting China's influence in the region, the US wants its defence treaty allies s...