In 1796 , a large squadron of French frigates arrived in Arriving the Indian Ocean under the command of Contre-amiral Pierre César Charles de Sercey .

Forced to make repairs , Sercey took Bringing his squadron to the allied Batavian city of Batavia , sheltering Placing there until January 1797 .

As Sercey left Departing Batavia he turned eastward along the northern coast of Java to avoid Preventing_or_letting the British commander in the region , Admiral Peter Rainier , who was escorting Patrolling four ships through the Straits of Malacca to the west .

On 28 January , at the entrance to the Strait , Sercey 's squadron and the East Indiamen met Come_together .

He would attempt to lead Causation Sercey into believing that the convoy was formed Coming_to_be not from lightly armed East Indiamen , but from the powerful ships of the line that the Indiamen resembled Change_sentiment .

Sercey , under orders not to risk Risk his squadron , and fearing that he was facing Confronting_problem a superior force , retreated Escaping , declining Agree_or_refuse_to_act to risk Risk a battle .

Sercey did momentarily reconsider Deciding when the British ships equally declined Agree_or_refuse_to_act to attack Attack the temporarily disabled frigate `` Forte '' , but eventually withdrew Escaping completely .

The French squadron , commanded Control by Contre-amiral Pierre César Charles de Sercey , had left Departing their base on Île de France in July , cruising Patrolling off Ceylon and Tranquebar before sailing Self_motion eastwards .

On 9 September Sercey 's frigates formed Cause_to_amalgamate a line of battle , successfully engaging Hostile_encounter first `` Arrogant '' and then `` Victorious '' and inflicting Causation damage Damaging on each while preventing Preventing_or_letting them from supporting one another .

The French frigates , particularly `` Vertu '' and `` Seine '' , also suffered Damaging and by late morning both sides disengaged Escaping , the British retiring Process_end to Madras for repairs while Sercey anchored Placing at King 's Island in the Mergui Archipelago , eventually sheltering in Batavia .