The Washington treaty regulated more than tonnage and gun caliber: it also restricted who could build ships for whom and barred wartime seizure of vessels ordered by another power. Britain accepted those clauses while retaining the practical ability to requisition foreign orders when war began. British yards did exactly that at the opening of World War II, when ships under construction for other countries could be compulsorily purchased. An Argentine cruiser based on an improved Arethusa design might have joined the Royal Navy had it remained in Britain slightly longer. Peacetime arms-control law carried little weight once a belligerent found usable warships immediately available.
Notable Point · 3:19-5:17
Treaty export rules meet wartime requisition
The treaty restricted transfers and wartime takeovers of foreign orders, but national survival could quickly override those peacetime promises.