A French frigate force that had been raiding Attack British commerce off West Africa approached Self_motion and attempted to attack Attack a convoy of valuable East Indiamen , large and heavily armed merchant vessels sailing Motion from Britain to British India and China , two ships sailing Motion for Botany Bay , and a whaler sailing Motion for the South Seas ' whale fishery .

Other naval theatres saw U-boats operating in both the Far East and South East Asia , the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean and North Seas .

With the onset of the war , the islands that flanked Attack Japan 's South Seas possessions became Becoming of vital concern to Japanese Imperial General Headquarters , and in particular to the Imperial Navy , which was tasked Request with protecting Defending Japan 's outlying Pacific territories .