It has been eight decades since the Battle for Guadalcanal was fought between Allied Forces and the Japanese Imperial Army.

Today, the Solomon Islands are again at the center of a Pacific power game ¡ª one that pits the U.S. and its strategic partners against their latest adversary, China.

News that the People¡¯s Republic and the Solomons had signed a framework agreement on security cooperation was met with significant unease Tuesday in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand, where officials fear it could pave the way for a Chinese naval base in the Pacific. (The World War II fight over Guadalcanal, the Solomons¡¯ main island, was sparked by Tokyo¡¯s decision in 1942 to move in troops and laborers to construct an airfield, which would have given Japan an advantage in the Pacific theater.)