Why naval treaty tonnage was hard to enforce

What provisions could have minimized creative accounting under naval treaty limits?

Only intrusive independent inspection could verify ships reliably, so practical compliance depended on making the treaty valuable enough for states to follow.

Independent weighing and assessment in another nation's dockyard could reveal creative accounting, but states would not accept that level of access. Any attempt to impose compliance by force would defeat the peace-preserving purpose of the agreement. Practical enforcement therefore depended on designing a treaty each participant considered worth preserving. More equitable terms make states more willing to remain close to the rules because the settlement still serves their security interests. Such bargains rarely give any participant a clear victory, but that absence of a winner can be part of what makes an arms-control regime durable.