On two occasions in my life I found myself living close to the South China Sea. The sea became my escape from life's pressing responsibilities. There is no escaping the fact that the serene waters are now also grounds for a nascent but real new cold war.

China takes the name of the sea very seriously. Its claim over the relatively massive water body — laden with oil, natural gas and other resources — is perhaps "ill-defined," per the account of the BBC (Nov. 3, 2011), but it is also very serious. Countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei are uneasy but are caught in a bind. China's growing regional influence — to some, perhaps "encroaching hegemony" — is an uncontested fact of life.

To challenge — or balance — the rising Chinese power, these countries face a most difficult choice: accepting China's supremacy or embracing an intractable American return to the region. The latter option is particularly worrisome considering the U.S.'s poor military track record throughout the Asia-Pacific region.