 In response to the threat presented by the Macedonian-Carthaginian alliance, the Senate decreed that twenty-five ships be added to the contingent already under Flaccus' command and sent to Apulia, where they were expected to monitor Philip's movements.In reality, because summer had elapsed by the time the second delegation reached Hannibal and concluded the treaty, its terms were never executed (military operations were usually suspended in winter).Furthermore, the discovery of the alliance by the Roman senate nullified the element of surprise, which greatly diminished the treaty's value in the context of the Second Punic War.