The agreement would have to regulate what signatory shipyards built for foreign customers as well as what their own navies ordered. Otherwise a non-signatory could commission a battleship larger than the common limit and upset every regional balance. Brazil, Argentina, Chile, the Ottoman Empire, and Greece illustrate how many additional governments might need to join or be covered by an export clause. Controlling construction abroad therefore turns a seemingly narrow technical limit into a much wider diplomatic system.
Notable Point · 1:13:33-1:14:27
Warship exports create a non-signatory loophole
A ship-size cap fails if signatory yards can still build larger battleships for Brazil, Argentina, Chile, the Ottoman Empire, Greece, or another outside customer.