Japanese-held territories are judged by how much they would change the campaign's strategic geography. Arabia and Madagascar take priority because capturing them would remove Japanese positions from the Indian Ocean. Attacking those colonies is explicitly separated from invading Japan itself. Although these holdings belong to the game's alternate history, the reasoning mirrors a real planning problem: an objective matters for the access and regional control it provides, as well as the territory gained.
Notable Point · 1:57:14-2:00:00
Choosing Indian Ocean objectives against Japan
Arabia and Madagascar are prioritized as objectives because taking them would remove Japanese-held positions from the Indian Ocean.