What was noteworthy was that the Indiamen sought out the French man-of-war and attacked it; it would have been more usual for the merchantmen to have avoided combat as they had little to gain from a battle.

Since at least the mid-18th Century, and to a great degree even earlier, the EIC would annually dispatch a fleet of Indiamen from England to trade with India, South East Asia, and China.

The vessels would generally, and particularly during wartime, stay together for mutual protection and support to the Cape of Good Hope, and then sail independently, or in smaller groups to Bombay, Madras, Bengal (Calcutta), and on.

On the homeward journey, the vessels that had gone to China would return in convoy, generally stopping at St Helena to pick up escorts back to England.

The British sailed on to the Cape, where Johnstone captured five Dutch East Indiamen at the battle of Saldanha Bay.

On 8 August 1782 the Indiamen Asia, Essex, Locko, and Osterley, and the country ship Shah Byram Gore, left Bombay, bound for China.

Locko did fire on and take possession of a Malay sloop that he feared the French captain had dispatched to summon the two brigs that had been reported accompanying the frigate.

Although Asia and Essex did fire on Pourvoyeuse, Lawson tried to keep them out of the battle as felt they were weakly manned, with a large portion of their crews being lascars.

Robert Maw received a silver salver made in 1787 by Joseph Heriot, of London, and inscribed "The Gift of the Hon’ble East India Company to Robert Maw Esq’r Commander of the Asia East Indiaman for gallantly defending the said ship against a French frigate of 44 guns in the Straights of Malacca September, 1782.

The French: Upon his return, Tromelin-Lanuguy suffered the scorn of Suffren, who blamed him for failing to press his attack on the East Indiamen.