523 



others in opposition to the proposal. Hearings were conducted in the 

 90th and 91st Congresses, and new subcommittees were established, 

 particularly in the Senate. The Subcommittee on Outer Continental 

 Shelf of the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs held 

 extensive hearings throughout the 91st Congress, and issued a report 

 based on these hearings. The Subcommittee took the position that the 

 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf was validly operative, 

 and saw no need to convene another Law of the Sea Conference. It 

 also concluded that the geological interpretation of the continental 

 margin made that portion of the seabed the property of the United 

 States. It endorsed the exploitability clause in the Convention, which 

 expanded the limits of the shelf depending on the technological capa- 

 bility of a state to exploit in deeper waters. It shared with the Presi- 

 dent the expressed desire that ocean resources beyond the continental 

 margin be used rationally and equitably for the benefit of mankind, 

 conditional on measures to protect investors exercising high seas rights 

 to explore and exploit the wealth of the deep seabed. 



The Executive Branch leaned toward international cooperation and 

 the proper utilization of the diplomatic process. U.S. delegates 

 to the United Nations General Assembly took the initiative in intro- 

 ducing several draft resolutions toward international cooperation in 

 research, the exploitation of the seabed, and the limitations of military 

 uses of the sea floor. These efforts culminated in the signing of the 

 Seabed Disarmament Treaty on February 12, 1971, banning the em- 

 placement of nuclear weapons on the ocean floor, and paving the way 

 for wider measures toward disarmament. 



As to an international seabed regime, President Nixon proposed on 

 May 23, 1970, that all nations adopt as soon as, possible a treaty re- 

 nouncing all national claims over the natural resources of the seabed 

 beyond the point where the high seas reach a depth of 200 meters, and 

 agree to regard these resources as the common heritage of mankind. 

 The regime proposed for the exploitation of seabed resources would 

 provide for the collection of substantial mineral royalties to be used 

 for international community purposes, particularly for economic as- 

 sistance to developing countries. It would also establish rules and reg- 

 ulations for protecting the ocean environment, and a mechanism for 

 the settlement of disputes, in the form of an International Seabed 

 Resource Authority. In the meantime, an interim policy was proposed 

 for all nations to join the United States to insure that all permits 

 for exploration and exploitation of the seabed beyond the 200-meter 

 limit be issued subject to an international authority. 



During the 25th session of the U.N. General Assembly, these princi- 

 ples were considered, and on December 18, 1970, two resolutions were 

 passed: One, establishing a timetable and calling for convening in 

 1973 of a new conference on the law of the sea ; the other promulgating 

 a set of principles in a declaration of ground rules for ocean resources 

 management and scientific research. 



In its diplomatic participation, the United States developed policy 

 contingent on developments in science and technology. Since World 

 War II, the outlook toward the use of the oceans for military purposes 

 has been gaining progressively larger dimensions. Military strategy 

 has evolved along lines drawn by developments in technology, and 



