Washington allowed any number of cruisers below 10,000 tons, making money rather than treaty law the immediate constraint. France, Britain, and the other signatories could have used that freedom to cover their global commitments. A hypothetical British program of four County-class cruisers per year could have put at least 32 ships in service or construction by the London conference. Those hulls would have supplied overseas presence while establishing a far larger tonnage baseline for later negotiation. Underbuilding during the unrestricted window could therefore become a lasting force-structure disadvantage once new limits arrived.
Notable Point · 39:01-40:33
Cruiser construction as presence and treaty leverage
Because Washington capped individual cruiser displacement but not aggregate cruiser tonnage, regular building could have expanded overseas presence and strengthened the baseline carried into London.