Serenity in the South China Sea - Institute for Maritime and Ocean Affairs

The United States should accept many dimensions of China’s economic, and now military, growth with as much serenity as it can muster. But there are some that call for pushback and the jury is still out on America’s capacity to make the right calls.
The central, painful, reality that the US must accept is that a major shift in the Asia-Pacific balance of power has already taken place. The days of America’s unequivocal primacy and unilateral capacity to write the rules are over.
Economically, the writing is on the wall. Despite US opposition to China’s Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank, much of the region has embraced it. And, again despite US resistance, it seems inevitable that the renminbi will join the International Monetary Fund’s reserve-currency basket. Then there is the immense difficulty the US is having in bringing its China-excluding Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact to fruition. Militarily, while the US will remain the dominant global power for the foreseeable future, its absolute superiority in East Asia is no longer unchallenged. The dramatic build-up of China’s military (especially naval) capability is no more than can be expected of a hugely trade-dependent regional superpower. It is not easy for some US leaders to say so publicly, but most acknowledge privately that America can no longer expect to have the seas and skies to itself. Its role will necessarily be scaled back to that of regional counterweight.