Do not write a treaty that requires lying

Does the maxim 'never give an order that will not be obeyed' also apply to naval treaties?

Yes. A treaty should not be written in a way that automatically forces its signatories to lie.

A viewer recalls the advice never to give an order that will not be obeyed, and the same principle applies to treaty drafting. A nominal prohibition has little value when the agreement makes evasion or misreporting the expected response. Compliance must be plausible for the parties being regulated. Formal precision alone does not make an agreement enforceable.