Staring-baai is a bay

Bay

A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...

 off the southeast peninsula

South-east Peninsula, Sulawesi

The South-east Peninsula is one of the four principal peninsulas on the island of Sulawesi, stretching south-east from the central part of the island.Several islands are situated off its southeastern tip, including Muna and Buton....

 of Sulawesi

Sulawesi

Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...

 in Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

. It lies slightly southeast of Kendari

Kendari

Kendari is the capital of the Indonesian province of South East Sulawesi. The city lies along Kendari Bay. Moramo Waterfall is located 65 km east of Kendari. Kendari is divided into four subdistricts: Kendari, Mandonga, Baruga, and Poasia...

, the provincial capital of South East Sulawesi

South East Sulawesi

South East Sulawesi is a province of Indonesia on the island of Sulawesi. The capital of the province is Kendari, on the east coast of the peninsula....

, where it opens to the east onto the Banda Sea

Banda Sea

The Banda Sea is a sea in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia, technically part of the Pacific Ocean but separated from it by hundreds of islands, as well as the Halmahera and Ceram Seas...

.

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the bay was a refueling checkpoint for warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

. Sorties out of Staring-baai included the air raids on Darwin, February 19, 1942 and the later Indian Ocean raid

Indian Ocean raid

The Indian Ocean raid was a naval sortie by the Fast Carrier Strike Force of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 31 March-10 April 1942 against Allied shipping and bases in the Indian Ocean. It was an early engagement of the Pacific campaign of World War II...

 against Allied forces and shipping around Ceylon

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

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