On one hand, I can see the arguments against this from a multiplayer/pvp perspective, but there are a few things to consider:
1. With only a single respawn point on an island, this could easily be walled/locked by dickish pvp players, thus ruining the respawn mechanic entirely.
2.The current implementation doesn't really make it any more difficult. If I'm exploring a cave and I die, all my stuff drops on the ground in the cave and I spawn at the respawn point on the island. If I have a boat or a base on the island, I simply have to run to it to craft/grab a backup set of gear to get back to my corpse. All this really does is add a bit of tedium, since I'd otherwise just be spawning at my boat/base.
3. With multiplayer modes able to be created in the editor, this could easily be a setting that is settable based on the mode you're wanting to play.
4. In Exploration mode, especially multiplayer, having a way to spawn at your base vs on the island you're on could be really valuable, and since there is a respawn point at most islands (except the ice islands from what I've seen), you're likely not going to be too far from your stuff in any event.