 The Singapore strategy was a naval defence policy of the British Empire that evolved in a series of war plans from 1919 to 1941 . It aimed to deter aggression by the Empire of Japan by providing for a base for a fleet of the Royal Navy in the Far East , able to intercept and defeat a Japanese force heading south towards India or Australia . To be effective it required a well @-@ equipped base ; Singapore , at the eastern end of the Strait of Malacca , was chosen in 1919 as the location of this base ; work continued on this naval base and its defences over the next two decades . 
