A longer delay could allow the United States to grant the Philippines full sovereignty and reconsider its military presence there. That would remove one American territorial stake without making the islands safe from Japanese expansion. Japan could manufacture a supposed attack or another pretext and portray an invasion of the independent state as defensive. A delay could change the sovereignty of a potential target and the justification offered for invading it.
Notable Point · 3:04:00-3:04:43
Philippine independence changes the pretext for war
An independent Philippines could become Japan's first target even if American forces had withdrawn before a delayed Pacific war.