It saw the end of the last Allied warships operating in the waters around Java, allowing Japanese forces to complete their conquest of the Dutch East Indies unhindered.

The heavy cruiser HMS Exeter—severely damaged in the first Battle of the Java Sea—had withdrawn to Surabaya in the east, escorted by the Dutch destroyer HNLMS Witte de With.

At 09:35, two heavy cruisers were sighted approaching from the south; these were Nachi and Haguro of the Eastern Invasion Force with two destroyers, Yamakaze and Kawakaze[3] under Admiral Takeo Takagi, whom they had met two days previously at the Battle of the Java Sea.

As the four Japanese cruisers closed in on Exeter, Encounter and Pope were ordered to break contact and make for a nearby rain squall in an attempt to shake off pursuit.

[7][8] Lieutenant Commander Eric 'Rattler' Morgan, the destroyer's captain, ordered his ship scuttled to prevent her capture by the Japanese and she capsized and sank about 12:10.

The respite was short-lived, however; shortly after noon she was spotted by planes from the aircraft carrier Ryūjō, which was covering the Western Invasion Force; she was dive-bombed and sunk around 13:50.