London II and the timing problem in rearmament

What purpose did the Second London Naval Treaty serve when major powers were already moving away from treaty limits?

It was an attempt to restrain costs and buy time for rearmament, although the political effort to preserve peace increasingly lagged behind strategic reality.

The answer treats London II as part of a political effort to preserve peace and avoid uncontrolled defence spending. Rearming too early with available designs could leave a force technologically dated when war actually came. Britain nevertheless began moving ahead of France while Neville Chamberlain tried to buy additional time. The passage presents treaty policy as a flawed but intelligible timing problem rather than a simple refusal to prepare.