A 10:10:7:4:4 ratio intended to reassure Japan

The alternative ratio assigns Britain and the United States twenty capital ships each, Japan fourteen, and France and Italy eight apiece. A 7:10 relationship is intended to give Japan enough security and status to strengthen support for remaining in the treaty system. The deterrent assumes Britain and the United States would enter a war together if either fought Japan, making their combined total forty ships against fourteen. One deployment example sends twelve British and sixteen American capital ships to the Far East while Britain retains eight for home and Mediterranean commitments. A stronger fleet already under construction would also make a German Plan Z programme harder to match against Britain. Germany could receive a smaller ratio of two, allowing four capital ships and giving the Weimar Republic a claim to restored status. Early construction is envisaged as Scharnhorst-like ships with 11-inch guns because larger German weapons would not yet be ready. Reassuring Japan might also reduce its incentive to seek German and Italian allies, although the political effect remains conditional.