Realist：
1. One would have thought that the United States, vis a vis rest of the world and in particular East Asia, is not what it once was. Its economic presence stands diminished with the rise of East Asian economies. And not withstanding its considerable military might, its military and diplomatic credibility has suffered much on account of the post 9/11 involvement in Middle East and South Asia. Its reliability as a partner too cam unstuck in Europe when Georgia and Ukraine pursued policies that the United States very much desired only to run into ruin.
2. No merchant shipping of any note has suffered in terms of navigational freedom on account of China's claims in SCS. More and more the effort by the United States to move its military vessels in order to challenge China's claims looks like an effort to create a FON problem where none presently exists.