==Battle==

 

At about midnight, the ships sailed for ''Meinderts Droogte'' (Meinderts Reef; later Karang Mas), off the north east tip of Java. The last ship arrived around 05:00 on 4 February. At 09:30, the strike force received word that air patrols from Makassar had spotted the Japanese apparently heading for Surabaya. On the morning of 4 February, the ABDA strike force headed out for Makassar Strait, in search of the Japanese invasion force, which was reported to be passing through the straits and was now said to include three cruisers and 18 destroyers, escorting transports and other ships, under ''Sho-sho'' (Rear Admiral) [[Takeo Takagi]].