WASHINGTON, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. navy will hold large-scale war games near the Pacific island of Guam later this year, with the presence of 3 aircraft carriers, Pentagon officials said Tuesday.

    The scale of this year's Valiant Shield exercise will match last year's, Pentagon officials told U.S. media, but stopping short of mentioning details.

    The war games in June 2006 involved some 28 ships, 280 airplanes and 22,000 troops, which was the largest U.S. military exercise in the Pacific since the Vietnam War era.

    The moves reflect the growing strategic importance of Guam and the Pacific region in the eyes of the U.S. military, analysts said.

    For its part, the U.S. navy is reportedly planning to deploy the majority of its fleet of nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers in the Pacific.