I go back and forth on this, mainly because I don't really know anything about the issue.
Most of the time I don't see the harm done if China's power rises in Asia. I remember shortly after the Cold War ended everyone talking about 'spheres of influence'--certain countries would exercise influence on the regions around them.
This was supposed to be good for the United States. We can't maintain order all over the world. Let another country maintain the balance of power.
But if China really is on the warpath, I could see how it might destabilize the region and that wouldn't be good for anyone simply because it might mean war. According to this line of argument, if China isn't reigned in by American military might, the region could become combustible.
This is an interesting interview in the Telegraph with Peter Foster, who I gather knows something about these issues:
I think we are headed into a period of profound and long-term creative destruction geo-politically.
In the past 35 years there's only been one geopolitical constant in the entire world. Only one. And that's the rise of China. What's really dangerous is that China is the only country of size right now that has a global strategy.
Anyone figured this out?