With little naval demand in the Mediterranean, Allied submarines and many British and French capital ships can move east. Singapore gains a fleet in being, while India, Burma, and French Indochina can receive troops released from other theaters. Britain would have less reason to yield to Japanese pressure and close the Burma Road supplying Nationalist China in July 1940. Japan must therefore weigh southern expansion against a much larger Allied force and a submarine screen along the approaches to its likely objectives.
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A reinforced Far East keeps the Burma Road open
Freed submarines, carriers, and battleships reinforce Singapore and make Britain less likely to yield to Japanese pressure over China.