The proposed bargain improves British ship quality while cutting the number of British hulls that American or Japanese planners might face. That loss of geographic presence gives the United States and Japan a reason to consider the arrangement even though the replacement ships would be more capable. Either navy might still demand permission to complete another 16-inch-gun ship of its own. Under that arithmetic, five ships at the 525,000-ton ceiling are the cautious outcome.
Notable Point · 3:35-5:22
Why fewer British hulls might unlock treaty consent
The alternative treaty deal becomes diplomatically plausible because Britain would exchange nine older ships for only five or six new ones, reducing how many places its capital ships could cover.