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Following the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|bombing of Pearl Harbor]] and [[Bombing of Singapore (1941)|Japanese attacks on British Malaya]], the [[Dutch government-in-exile]] declared war on Japan on 8 December 1941.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=37}} Now in a war zone, ''Java'' continued to escort convoys.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Whitley |first=M. J. (Michael J. ) |url=https://archive.org/details/cruisers-of-wwii-enciclopedia-images/page/192/mode/2up?q=%22De+Ruyter%22+ |title=Cruisers of World War Two : an international encyclopedia |date=1995 |___location=London |publisher=Arms and Armour Press |isbn=978-1-85409-225-0}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=|page=191}} Over the next two months, Japan's rapid advances across Southeast Asia overwhelmed the region's [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] naval forces. In an effort to coordinate resistance, elements of the [[Royal Australian Navy|Australian]], [[Royal Navy|British]], Dutch, and [[United States Navy|American]] navies formed [[American-British-Dutch-Australian Command|ABDACOM]]: an [[ad hoc]] command that brought together each nation's available ships under a (nominally) unified structure. One of ABDACOM's first steps was the formation of an offensive fleet—the Combined Striking Force—composed of a mix of American and Dutch cruisers and destroyers. After initial delay, ''Java'' was reassigned to the Striking Force that was in desperate need of ships. Command of the fleet was under Dutch Admiral [[Karel Doorman]] on his [[flagship]] ''[[HNLMS De Ruyter (1935)|De Ruyter]]'', who was already in charge of the Dutch East Indies Fleet.<ref name=":74" />{{Rp|page=176–177,208-209|pages=}}
''Java''{{'}}s first role in the Combined Striking Force was to intercept the invasion of [[Sumatra]].<ref name=":74" />{{Rp|page=|pages=206-208}} A floatplane from ''De Ruyter'' found the Japanese invasion fleet, and the Allies were likewise detected. Without air support, the fleet was
==== Battle of Badung Strait ====
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