Why Wei-hai-wei was not heavily fortified

Why did the Royal Navy not fortify Wei-hai-wei as a Far East base?

Its legal status, operational secrecy, and the risk of having to retake British-built defenses all counted against fortification.

Britain did not possess Wei-hai-wei in a way that made major permanent works politically simple. Fortifying it would also have made the base's intended wartime role more obvious to Japan. British planning allowed for the possibility that the Japanese would occupy it before the Royal Navy arrived. In that case, new defenses could become obstacles the British would later have to recapture.