After a refit at Kure Naval Arsenal in September, "Kuma" returned to Manila on 20 September 1942 and was reassigned to Vice Admiral Shirō Takasu's Second Southern Expeditionary Fleet (Dutch East Indies Force). She was sent to Hong Kong to embark troops of the 38th Infantry Division, which she disembarked at Rabaul, New Britain on 10 October. "Kuma" then proceeded to Makassar, Celebes where she began patrols under the command of Captain Ichiro Yokoyama, with occasional embarkation of reinforcements for Rabaul, Kaimana, New Guinea and Kabui, New Guinea until 13 April 1943.