Naval treaties let Britain save money and shape the rules

Who came up with naval treaties, and what advantages did they seek?

Britain pushed the treaties to save money and shape rules around British preferences, forcing other powers to strain or break the limits to get what they wanted.

The Royal Navy and British government had strong reasons to support naval limitation treaties. Shared limits on ships and tonnage could contain British costs while preserving a favorable fleet structure. Britain could also shape the rules around its own needs. Competitors then had to work harder, strain the limits, or break them to obtain the fleets they wanted.