On December 8, 1941 (December 7 U.S. time), Japan declared war on the U.S. and the British Empire, after Japanese forces attacked Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong as well as the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. In launching this war, Japanese leaders sought to neutralize the U.S. fleet, seize territory rich in natural resources, and obtain strategic military bases to defend their far-flung empire. In the words of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) Combined Fleet's "Secret Order Number One", dated 1 November 1941, the goals of the initial Japanese campaigns in the impending war were to "British and American strength from the Netherlands Indies and the Philippines, [and to establish a policy of autonomous self-sufficiency and economic independence."