If the Soviet Union joined the Washington Naval Treaty, would the treaty also have to include the South American navies?
Short answerThe case would be arguable: South American fleets were capable, while the Soviet Union had the additional claim of bases across several theatres.
NotesBrazil, Argentina, and Chile had capable navies in the 1920s and 1930s, supported by substantial funding and training. Their presence would not be easy to dismiss in a treaty that already included France and Italy. The stronger argument for Soviet participation came from geography: the Soviet Union already had territory and bases across several parts of the globe. That geographic reach differed from the ability to deploy ships freely between distant theatres, so the case for inclusion did not depend on matching British, American, or French mobility.