A conflict with Japan offers Britain political cover to accelerate war production before a European war has formally begun. Germany may ignore treaty limits, but its economy is still less fully organized for war than Britain could become under the pressure of an actual conflict. The timing creates an asymmetry: Britain can take its foot off the brake openly while Germany remains formally constrained. Nominal rearmament is different from the economic and administrative conversion needed to sustain mass production.
Notable Point · 3:20-4:11
A Pacific war as an early rearmament trigger
A Far Eastern war gives Britain political cover to mobilise openly while Germany remains formally constrained and economically less prepared.