The Western Pacific is currently facing a difficult problem: how to accommodate China's rising aspirations in a region where the United States has held primacy since the Cold War's end.

Is the U.S. determined to maintain dominance in the Asia-Pacific region? Or is it willing to operate through multilateral forums that allow all involved parties to help set the rules? The way this issue plays out will determine whether peace will continue to prevail across the Pacific.

It is difficult to see the stationing of 2,500 U.S. Marines in Darwin, Australia — a decision announced by U.S. President Barack Obama on his recent tour of Asia — as anything more than a symbolic gesture, a provocative reminder that the U.S. is determined to stay in the region. America's purpose, however, remains unclear.