On first official India trip, Rubio tries to halt a trust deficit between Washington and Delhi

NEW DELHI (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is holding talks with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Sunday as the two countries look to steady ties that have fallen to their lowest point in over two decades.

Rubio's visit comes during an economic and diplomatic downturn between the United States and India, strained largely by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies that raised duties on several Indian exports.

Rubio arrived Saturday on his first official visit to India ahead of a meeting set for Tuesday with his counterparts from India, Australia and Japan, which are members of the Indo-Pacific strategic alliance known as the Quad.

“India is at the cornerstone of how the United States approaches the Indo-Pacific, and not just through the Quad, but bilaterally,” Rubio said in New Delhi.

His four-day visit will include a multicity tour and a gala reception in New Delhi marking the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.

“In the past one year, statements and rhetoric coming from Washington on some of India’s most sensitive security concerns and trade matters have not been helpful and have created a trust deficit,” said Ashok Malik, a former policy adviser in India’s Foreign Ministry.

“Certain misgivings will remain,” Malik added, noting Rubio’s visit will be considered an achievement if the talks somewhat stabilize the relationship and check further deterioration.

Experts say friction exists between U.S. global strategic ambitions and India’s priorities as an emerging middle power. Historically close to Russia, India has long shown unease as it moves closer to the U.S., which reflects India's lingering distrust of American intentions rooted in cultural differences and Cold War-era instincts.

Still, India-U.S. ties steadily deepened over two decades into a broad, robust strategic partnership, increasingly shaped in recent years by shared concerns over China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific and diplomatically articulated through the Quad forum.

The Quad has repeatedly accused China of flexing its military muscles in the South China Sea and aggressively pushing its maritime territorial claims. Beijing maintains that its military is purely defensive to protect what it says are China's sovereign rights and calls the Quad an attempt to contain its economic growth and influence.

After the U.S. presidential inauguration in January 2025, Rubio’s first formal international engagement was meeting with the foreign ministers of the Quad countries jointly and in separate sessions.

However, a series of events since last year have brought the diplomatic relationship to a low point.

Despite close ties and often being perceived as ideological allies, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi downplayed Trump’s role in brokering a ceasefire after a brief India-Pakistan military conflict triggered by the April 2025 massacre of mostly Hindu tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir. But Pakistan openly courted Trump and even advocated the Nobel Peace Prize for him.

Economic tensions followed, with the Trump administration imposing tariffs on India over its discounted purchases of Russian oil that further strained ties between the two countries.

“In India, there is some skepticism about U.S. policy and predictability,” said Malik, who heads the India chapter of The Asia Group advisory firm in the U.S. He said what has happened in the past year between India and the U.S. “can’t be forgotten or erased easily.”

When the Iran war broke out in February, the U.S. stepped up engagement with Pakistan, which positioned itself as a mediator between Washington and Tehran, deepening unease in New Delhi. Trump’s recent, high-profile visit to China has only added to India’s discomfort.

India-U.S. relations are challenging “due to a few structural tensions and Trump only brought them to the fore,” said Praveen Donthi, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.

“New Delhi’s foreign policy, increasingly colored by its domestic politics, has become more black-and-white in the last decade, as evidenced by its deep discomfort with the U.S.’s ties with Pakistan and its moves toward detente with China,” Donthi said.

Experts say these shifts reflect the growing complexity of India-U.S. relations rooted in shared strategic interests, yet increasingly shaped by competing priorities and a shifting geopolitical landscape.

“New Delhi is likely to exercise strategic patience and wait for Trump to leave office,” Donthi said. “India would hope that the bipartisan consensus on India in the U.S. survives his term and that it can start building on that again.”

Hussain reported from Srinagar, India.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio walks the red carpet before attending a reception at Roosevelt House, Saturday, May 23, 2026, at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, waits as US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, speaks at a dedication ceremony for an annex building at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives at a dedication ceremony for an annex building at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center left, and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, arrive to attend a dedication ceremony for an annex building at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, waits as US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, unseen, speaks at a dedication ceremony for an annex building at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

CINCINNATI (AP) — Four years after considering retirement, Bryan Torres made it to the major leagues at age 28 and homered for the St. Louis Cardinals in his debut.

“Eleven years to get to here,” Torres said, fighting back tears after helping the Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-1 in the opener of Saturday's doubleheader. “I’m not a homer guy. Today, my debut, it just happened. I’ve been learning to manage the pressure. When the heart is going too fast, you have to slow things down. I felt a little pounding in my chest today.”

Torres, who first played minor league ball in 2015, hit seventh and played left field.

With dyed blond hair and wearing thick eye black, he worked a full-count walk from Chris Paddack (0-6) in the second, singled on a cutter in the fourth, grounded out in the sixth, flied out in the seventh and homered on a 95.2 mph fastball from Jose Franco in the ninth, driving the 2-1 pitch into the first row of the right-center field seats.

“There’s not many words to describe this moment,” he said.

Cardinals fans at the game, many of them waving their shirts, kept chanting his name and three batters later induced a curtain call.

“All those guys bring us some energy,” Torres said.

Torres became the third Cardinals player since 1900 with multiple hits that included a home run in his debut, the first since Bobby Smith at Cincinnati on April 16, 1957.

“Pretty neat, man,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “There’s moments throughout the year that you take a step back and get to enjoy. That’s one of them. You could tell, even in his first at-bat, there’s a calmness to him in the box.”

Torres also played left field and batted seventh in the nightcap, going 1 for 4 with a single and a walk as the Reds won 7-6 in 11 innings.

Torres signed a minor league contract with Milwaukee in 2015, was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco organization in December 2019, became a free agent after the 2021 season and spent two years with the independent Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association.

“I’m not going to lie, at one moment, I thought I’d retire,” he said. “In that moment, I decided I wanted to give myself a chance, and if I did, give it 100%.”

He signed a minor league deal with the Cardinals in September 2023, hit .331 with 28 doubles, two homers, 56 RBIs and 33 stolen bases at Double-A Springfield, then was promoted to Triple-A Memphis and batted .328 with 16 doubles, nine homers 51 RBIs in 2025.

He was added to the 40-man roster last November and played for Puerto Rico in this year’s World Baseball Classic, going 2 for 6 with a double, three walks and three runs.

“I’m going to try to get him out there as much as possible,” Marmol said. “This is a left-handed bat who understands the strike zone, finds a way on base, a real pesky at-bat. I like his skill set.”

Torres was recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Friday after hitting .336 with 10 doubles, two homers, 16 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 36 games.

“I was in (the) clubhouse sitting in my seat and my manager, Ben Johnson, said: ‘I’ve got some good news for you. Bryan Torres is going to The Show,’” Torres recalled. “Everyone started yelling and jumping up and down. Some of them started crying with me.”

Several family members were at Great American Ball Park. His first call was to his mother, Lissette Crespo.

“Since I was a young kid, 4 years old, she lost all her weekends to bring me to the stadium,” he said. “During the week, she always (brought) me to the park to practice, to play.”

His parents traveled from Puerto Rico on Friday only for that night’s game to be rained out.

“It was very emotional. He was crying and when I received it I cried with him,” his mom said during the Cardinals’ telecast. ”That was a special moment."

Torres took the roster spot of outfielder Nathan Church, placed on the 10-day injured list with a left shoulder strain. He became the oldest position player to debut for the Cardinals since catcher Alberto Rosario at age 29 in 2016. Left-hander Nick Raquet debuted last season for St. Louis, also at 29.

“It’s been a very long and tough road, and not the usual road,” Torres said. “Everything happens for a reason. My family is very happy. We’re living the dream, basically.”

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St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Bryan Torres catches a fly ball hit by Cincinnati Reds' JJ Bleday during the sixth inning of the first baseball game of a doubleheader in Cincinnati, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

St. Louis Cardinals' Bryan Torres celebrates as he runs the bases after Torres hitting a two-run homer in the ninth inning of the first baseball game of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

St. Louis Cardinals' Bryan Torres celebrates hitting a single, his first career hit on his MLB debut, during the fourth inning of the first baseball game of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

St. Louis Cardinals Bryan Torres, wearing his MLB debut patch, walks from second base during the second inning in the first baseball game of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)