African supply routes made Madagascar a strategic concern

Italy's position across the Mediterranean route sent more British supplies around the Cape of Good Hope. Those voyages were longer and exposed the Indian Ocean route to threats far from the main European battlefields. British leaders feared that Japan might exploit Vichy control and take Madagascar, even though reaching and sustaining the island would have been difficult. Their lack of trust in Vichy resistance helped turn Madagascar into an operational requirement for protecting the extended sea lane.