 Nyorai mberi kweiyi ndima - Pakutanga kweHondo yePacific, Chōkai yakatsigira kupindirwa kweMalaya uye yakabatanidzwa mukutsvaga kweRoyal Navys battleship Force Z. Mukati maJanuary naFebruary 1942, Chōkai yakabatanidzwa mumibato yokutora mafuta-akapfuma Dutch East Indies uye chitsuwa cheBorneo. Ichitsvaira pedyo neCape St. Jacques, Chōkai yakarova gungwa, ichitsigira kukuvara kwechikepe musi wa 22 February 1942. Musi waFebruary 27, akasvika kuSingapore kunogadziriswa. 