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
Second Battle of the Java Sea discovered that the wrecks of HMS "Exeter" and HMS "Encounter" were missing from the ocean floor. The Guardian newspaper subsequently reported that the wrecks of HMS "Exeter", HMS "Encounter", and part of HMS "Electra", as well as the submarine USS "Perch" were missing and presumed illegally scavenged. Commenting on their removal, one of the men involved in their original discovery is stunned at the magnitude of the salvaging that appears to have taken place. Second Battle of the Java Sea The Second Battle of the Java Sea was the last naval action of the Netherlands East Indies campaign, of 1941–42.