What is Singapore strategy?
{{Infobox | above = Singapore strategy | image = [[File:Renown-7.jpg|frameless|300px|alt=A formidable line of warships with big guns heads straight toward you, trailing smoke]] | caption = {{HMS|Repulse|1916|6}} leads her sister ship {{HMS|Renown|1916|6}} and other Royal Navy capital ships during manoeuvres in the 1920s | label1 = Era | data1 = 1919–1942 | label2 = Battlespace | data2 = Sea }} [[File:British Empire 1921.png|thumb|right|300px|The British Empire in 1921. Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa were self-governing dominions.|alt=Map of the world indicating the extent of the British Empire]] The '''Singapore strategy''' was a [[strategy]] about defending the [[British Empire]] in the [[Asia]]n [[Far East]], mainly against the [[Empire of Japan]]. The strategy involved a number of different plans and stages, developed between 1919 and 1941. The basic idea was to base a [[fleet]] of [[ship]]s in the Far East. This fleet could then be used to stop and defeat a Japanese force heading towards [[India]] or [[Australia]]. In 1919, [[Singapore]] was chosen because of its strategic location at the end of the [[Strait of Malacca]]. The planners thought that a war with Japan would have three phases: while the [[wikt:garrison|garrison]] of Singapore defended the [[fortress]], the fleet would make its way to Singapore, so that it could relieve or recapture [[Hong Kong]]. The fleet could also impose a [[wikt:blockade|blockade]] on the [[Japanese home islands]], which would force the Japanese to accept terms. The planners did not think it was practical to [[wikt:invade|invade]] [[Japan]]. The planners also thought that the Japanese would fight a naval battle. Japan consists of many islands. The planners therefore thought that [[economy|economic]] pressure would be enough. The Singapore strategy was the cornerstone of British Imperial defence policy in the Far East during the 1920s and 1930s. By 1937, according to [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]] [[Stephen Rosk