Post World War I, British influence began to wane, with powers like the United States and Japan emerging prominently in the Pacific. To counter potential threats, especially from Japan, Britain invested heavily in constructing a massive naval base in Singapore, completing it in 1939 at a cost of $500 million. This state-of-the-art base, often referred to by Winston Churchill as the "Gibraltar of the East," was equipped with advanced facilities like the world's largest dry dock at the time. However, despite its impressive defenses, it lacked an active fleet. The British strategy was to deploy the Home Fleet from Europe to Singapore if necessary, but the outbreak of World War II left the Home Fleet occupied in defending Britain, rendering the Singapore base vulnerable.