Singapore, Honolulu, and deterrence of Japan

British planners preferred Singapore's forward position but recognized that the U.S. Navy was reluctant to base its main fleet there. They therefore tested whether a fleet at Honolulu could deter Japan by threatening carrier attacks on Tokyo and other cities. That alternative depended on whether strikes across the great distance were operationally feasible and politically acceptable. An Atlantic-first American policy also shifted more responsibility for the Far East back toward Britain even as London sought U.S. support against Germany. The passage turns basing into a combined problem of logistics, political signaling, burden sharing, and carrier reach.