Singapore is as distant from Japan as Portsmouth is from New York, making it unsuitable as the fleet's permanent fighting station. Its intended role was to assemble fuel, stores, repair support, and forces arriving from across the empire. From that theatre hub, the Royal Navy could advance, recover Hong Kong, neutralize Weihaiwei and Qingdao, and then operate nearer Japan. Fast fleet oilers would sustain the forward force instead of requiring capital ships to return continually to Singapore. The strategy separated logistical concentration from the eventual operational base area.
Notable Point · 2:13:44-2:15:09
Singapore as a theatre logistics hub
Singapore was intended to concentrate theatre logistics, not to serve as the fleet's final operating base for fighting off Japan.