 The Dutch believed that if war broke out, Japan's capital ships would be preoccupied with the battleships of the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy, meaning that the defenses of the East Indies would need to cope only with Japan's cruisers.However, the ships were more powerful than their Dutch equivalents and Japan would also have the advantage of numbers.It was estimated that by 1944, should no new vessels be ordered, the five light cruisers of the "Koninklijke Marine" (two of the , which were laid down prior to the First World War, , and two of the ) could be facing 18 heavy and 27 light Japanese cruisers.