U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has been trying to manage some of that cooperation and reassure Chinese officials, among them the new premier Li Keqiang. "Our common interests are far more than our disputes. As big countries, we have a responsibility to maintain the peace and stability of the region," Li said.

But it is because of China that nearly all U.S. allies in the region want greater security cooperation, says Georgetown University professor Michael Green. "Many of them trade more with China than they do with us -- including Japan, Korea, Australia, three of our most important allies -- and so none of them wants to be ever put in a position where they have to choose between Washington and Beijing," Green noted.

Green believes Beijing now sees its own actions as part of the reason why neighbors want greater U.S. involvement. "The Chinese side will continue to argue it is containment, but I think they have drawn the lesson. They imposed a self-inflicted wound, an on-side goal in 2010 by pushing their neighbors closer to us," he said.

Washington says it will remain a Pacific power that is committed to working with China on regional issues such as North Korea and on broader goals such as curtailing Iran's nuclear program.