South China Sea raid have been the most important result of the raid, as these losses contributed to closing a supply route which was vital to the Japanese war effort. Subsequent attacks by Allied aircraft and warships forced the Japanese to cease sending ships into the South China Sea after March 1945. During 1941 and the first months of 1942, Japan conquered or established de facto rule over almost the entire South China Sea region. Control of the sea was vital to the Japanese economy, as it was the conduit through which essential supplies of oil and other natural resources passed from occupied Malaya,
Military history of Indonesia Indonesian archipelago, and after 1904 the Netherlands East Indies were considered pacified, with no large-scale armed opposition to the Dutch rule. By 1920 the Dutch colonial state has integrated most of Indonesian archipelago within its territory. The Dutch East Indies has become the most precious colony for Dutch crown. The Dutch colonial state was brought into an abrupt end when the Japanese Empire launched some fast and systematic attacks in 1942. The Japanese occupation in Indonesia was part of larger war of the Pacific theatre during World War II. To gain popular support and mobilise Indonesian people in their war