If the Graf Spee would've been interned, you can be sure the Germans would try as hard as they could to get it back diplomatically, failing that they might've sent one of her sister ships and used some gunboat diplomacy
Captain Langsdorff instead chose to scuttle, a decision that probably saved his ship from being annihilated by the British ships (Even though most of what he was lead to believe was waiting wasn't there) and Uruguay a lot of problems
Oh, and I don't think the 24-hour limit imposed by the Hague Convention applies to unarmed Merchant ships
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