A separate battlecruiser allowance changes the incentives facing every signatory. Britain could plausibly have made a distinct battlecruiser squadron a condition of participation, and the United States would have had reason to accommodate it to secure British and Japanese agreement. The allowance would have to sit alongside battleship tonnage, just as carrier tonnage did, because forcing the United States to trade away part of its fifteen-ship battle fleet would make agreement unlikely. The change would affect capital ships, carriers, cruiser limits, and each government's willingness to keep the treaty.
Chapter · 0:01-6:29
Why make battlecruisers a separate treaty category?
The alternate treaty begins by separating battlecruisers from battleships, a change intended to satisfy British and Japanese interests while preserving a workable agreement.