Ceylon as the Royal Navy Far East base

If Britain put its Far East naval base in Ceylon, would it have been better prepared for the Indian Ocean raid?

Yes. A developed Ceylon base would place more fleet strength and command structure at Trincomalee while avoiding some Singapore-centered problems.

Britain already had a base at Trincomalee, but it was less developed than Singapore. Making Ceylon the main Far East base would likely concentrate a larger Royal Navy force there when the Indian Ocean raid arrived. Command structures would also be oriented toward the region earlier, and some problems caused by Singapore's fall would disappear. A Royal Navy officer would be more likely to hold the region's high command from an earlier stage.