 After her repairs were completed, the ship spent most of 1941 on convoy escort duties before she was transferred to the Far East after the start of the Pacific War in December. Exeter was generally tasked with escorting convoys to and from Singapore during the Malayan Campaign and continued on those duties in early February 1942 as the Japanese prepared to invade the Dutch East Indies. Later that month, she was assigned to the Striking Force of the joint American-British-Dutch-Australian Command and took on a more active role in the defence of the Dutch islands. The culmination of this was her participation in the Battle of the Java Sea later in the month as the Allies attempted to intercept Japanese invasion convoys. Exeter was crippled early in the battle and did not play much of a role as she was forced to withdraw. Two days later, she attempted to escape inbound Japanese forces, but was intercepted and sunk by Japanese ships at the beginning of March in the Second Battle of the Java Sea.
