The 1923 review tied British fleet distribution to the positions and bases available to other naval powers. It judged that the United States Pacific Fleet lacked a developed base in the Western Pacific nearer than Pearl Harbor. Singapore therefore gave the Royal Navy a distinctive ability to respond to future Japanese aggression in the region. Planners still rejected permanently stationing the main battle fleet in the Far East as uneconomical and undesirable. Their answer was mobility: maintain the base and routes that could move concentrated strength rapidly to whichever theater became threatened.
Notable Point · 12:24-13:22
Singapore and the Western Pacific basing balance
A 1923 fleet-distribution review treated Singapore as the base that gave the Royal Navy a unique ability to counter Japanese pressure in the Western Pacific while the U.S. Navy operated from Pearl Harbor.