 On the same date that the 4th Fleet was absorbed into the China Area Fleet, a new 4th Fleet was created to provide administrative control over Japanese naval forces in the Japanese-held island territories of the South Pacific (Caroline Islands, Marshall Islands, Mariana Islands, Palau).This third IJN 4th Fleet came under the aegis of the Combined Fleet on November 15, 1940.The operational name of this fleet was the South Seas Force.