June 8th – The First Ponga Note. Kaiser Wilhelm writes to President Wilson demanding the indisputable right of Germans to sail the high seas, reparations for the confiscation of German goods, reparations for the detention of German sailors, and reiterating “Strict Accountability” and demanding the abandonment of the ‘search and seizure’ routine against neutral ships.
Art. 6.
The supply, in any manner, directly or indirectly, by a neutral Power to a belligerent Power, of war-ships, ammunition, or war material of any kind whatever, is forbidden.
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/lawofwar/hague13.htm
Tell that to the British at war in 1914. Or even the Germans to some degree. The Ponga Note is a complete reversal of the Lusitania Note.