Deterring Japan with the threat of blockade

The confrontations with Japan were driven less by immediate hostility than by a desire to prevent war through an unmistakable display of strength. British planning emphasized blockade because Japan depended on the sea both for imports and for movement among the home islands. If Britain retained Singapore and support from Australia, the Royal Navy could project a fleet into the Pacific despite the distance from its industrial base. Japan lacked a comparable ability to threaten Atlantic commerce. Britain hoped that asymmetry would make an uneasy peace preferable to conflict.