Use Singapore as a coalition fleet base

Manila is dangerously close to Japan and has received less infrastructure investment than Singapore, while Hawaii is too distant for a rapid defense of the Philippines. Moving much of the Asiatic Fleet south would preserve it as a fleet-in-being capable of surging forward against an attack rather than trapping it at the threatened objective. Existing Anglo-American basing agreements and memories of using British facilities in the Spanish-American War make such cooperation conceivable. At Singapore, American, British, Dutch, and Commonwealth forces could form a joint task force instead of meeting Japan as disconnected local commands.