on 13 december 1941, "kinu" departed cam ranh bay, indochina with "chōkai", and and the destroyers and to provide cover for the invasion landing at kuantan, malaya, and from 17–24 december 1941, to cover landings in brunei and miri, seria, lutong and kuching in sarawak. the 2500 men of the "kawaguchi detachment" and the no. 2 yokosuka special naval landing force (snlf) quickly captured miri's airfield and oil fields. the operation was completed, and "kinu" returned to its base at cam ranh bay, indochina by the end of the year.