International Cooperation 



— encouraging mutual restraint among nations so that the oceans do 



not become the basis for military conflicts; 

 — considering questions of arms limitations on the seabed and ocean 



floor; and 

 — taking steps to reduce pollution and other activities which could 

 adversely affect the ecological balance of the seas. 

 This policy framework reflects the distinctive contributions that ocean 

 activities make to certain foreign policy goals: enhancing the prospects for 

 a stable and lasting peace, curbing the growing economic gap between the 

 developed and developing nations, strengthening regional cohesiveness in 

 many areas of the world, and providing new sources of critically needed 

 protein for an expanding world population. Steps taken internationally to 

 advance these policies have included visits by senior U.S. officials abroad, 

 conferences with foreign visitors, and support of numerous international 

 activities. 



Developing a Legal Regime for the Seabed 



The most potentially far reaching international issues considered by the 

 Marine Sciences Council during the past year were the International Decade 

 of Ocean Exploration, described in detail in Chapter IX, and the legal status 

 of the seabed of the deep ocean. Following the introduction of a pro- 

 posal by Malta in the fall of 1967, the U.N. General Assembly undertook 

 an "Examination of the question of the reservation exclusively for peaceful 

 purposes of the seabed and the ocean floor, and the subsoil thereof, under- 

 lying the high seas beyond the limits of present national jurisdiction, and the 

 use of their resources in the interests of mankind." The United States 

 actively participated in the debate.* 



On December 18, 1967, the General Assembly established an Ad Hoc 

 Committee of 35 members to prepare a study on the peaceful use of the 

 deep ocean floor, including: 



— a survey of past and present activities of the U.N. and its related agen- 

 cies and other intergovernmental bodies with regard to the deep 

 ocean floor; 

 — a survey of existing international agreements concerning the seabeds ; 



* The position taken by the United States followed the course set by President John- 

 son in July 1966 when he said: "Under no circumstances, we believe, must we ever 

 allow the prospects of rich harvest and mineral wealth to create a new form of colonial 

 competition among the maritime nations. We must be careful to avoid a race to grab 

 and to hold the lands under the high seas. We must ensure that the deep seas and the 

 ocean bottoms are, and remain, the legacy of all human beings." 



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