I te wā o te whakaekenga ki Pearl Harbor, ko te "Kumano" te kaipuke rangatira o te IJN 4th Fleet a te Kaihauturu Shigeyoshi Inoue, ā, i whakanohoia ki te hipoki i te whakaekenga a Hapani ki Malaya
hei waahanga o te Vice Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa's First Southern Expeditionary Fleet, e whakarato ana i te tautoko tata mo nga taunga o nga hoia Hapanihi i Singora, Pattani me Kota Bharu.