Why Fleet Air Arm strength left the Far East

Why was there not a larger Fleet Air Arm squadron presence at Hong Kong and Singapore in the 1920s and 1930s?

Available aircraft were largely carrier-based, and wartime demand pulled scarce Fleet Air Arm resources toward active operations, especially in the Mediterranean.

Much of the Fleet Air Arm's strength was tied to carriers instead of permanent Far East shore squadrons. When war created urgent demand in the North Atlantic and especially the Mediterranean, those limited forces were drawn toward the active theater. Apparent neglect of a base can reflect fleet-wide scarcity and competing operational priorities.