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 Delhionce saw as a West-facing platform to exert influence. Rubio hinted at Donald Trump's intentto get Quad roaring, with a potential meeting onthe sidelines of the ASEAN summit in November,in an effort clearly aimed at mitigating some ofthe impacts of the US's foreign policy. Whether partners other than the US find merit in thismove is another story. To be sure, India and the US have commoninterests in the Asia-Pacific region but keepgetting distracted by the noise elsewhere.Converging on the idea of limiting China'sinfluence in the region, the US wants its defence treaty allies such as South Korea and the Philippines and key strategic partners such as Taiwan to be unperturbed by China's growing influence, whereas India wants a technological boost in maritime security. But the US now perceives India asunwilling to get into a direct confrontation with China; New Delhi's abstentions from US votes condemning Russia haven't helped, though Washington itself has blown hot and cold on its relationship with Moscow. In the absence of any serious financial commitments, the US hasconvinced itself that India can be bypassed in itsAsia agenda. This has been borne out by its sudden pivot towards Pakistan. The current icy spell in India-US ties isunlikely to thaw because of a resurrected Quad. A suspension of the Graham Act tariffs on the eve of Rubio's India visit may only be relevant in terms of getting New Delhi and Washington to a table where the two States can discuss their disagreements, despite Trump's comments soon after about a deal with India being "pretty close". Given Trump's anxieties surrounding themidterm elections, Rubio's visits to Jamnagar,home to the world's biggest refinery, and Uzbekistan, a top producer of natural oil and uranium, needs tobe seen in the larger context of the heightened costof living (due to rising fuel prices) discourse in theUS. Whether Quad is back on its feet or not, India must continue prioritising its interests unabashedly....