Mahan's influence on capital-ship treaty categories

Did Mahan's thinking guide American thinking about naval treaties?

In this interpretation, attention to selected parts of Mahan encouraged a combined capital-ship category instead of separate battleship and battlecruiser allocations.

Selective attention to Mahan's emphasis on battleships and battle is offered as one reason for using a combined capital-ship category. A different treaty could have allocated Britain and the United States fifteen battleships and five battlecruisers each. Japan could have received nine battleships and three battlecruisers, forcing a decision about one of its four Kongos. France and Italy might have received seven battleships and two battlecruisers each after rounding the proposed ratios. Those hypothetical allocations would have changed what each navy retained or built, particularly French and Italian battlecruiser development.