Battle of Java (1942) Ambon and Netherlands New Guinea) became the responsibility of the Imperial Navy. The other units were deployed to other combat areas in the Pacific or returned to Japan. The surrender of the Dutch marked the end of the ABDA defence in the Dutch East Indies and the collapse of the "Malay Barrier" (or "East Indies Barrier"). Because the Allied naval force had been destroyed, the Indian Ocean and the approach to Australia lay open to the Imperial Japanese Navy. Battle of Java (1942) The Battle of Java (Invasion of Java, Operation J) was a battle of the Pacific theatre of
Tongue of the Ocean Tongue of the Ocean The Tongue of the Ocean (TOTO) is the name of a deep oceanic trench in the Bahamas separating the islands of Andros and New Providence. The TOTO is a U-shaped, relatively flat-bottomed trench approximately 20 miles (32 km) wide by 150 miles (240 km) long. Its depth varies gradually from 3,600 feet (1,100 m) in the south to 6,600 feet (2,000 m) in the north. Its only exposure to the open ocean is at the northern end. Except for the northern ocean opening, the TOTO is surrounded by numerous islands, reefs, and shoals which make a