 Although most of its ships were released for service with the Combined Fleet in the Pacific War a year later, most of the staff for the 4th Fleet remained in China, and were assigned to the Tsingtao Base Force for the duration of the war.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.