ISS 



Additional Policies Concerning Claims in 

 Areas of the Deep Seas Beyond the Inter- 

 mediate Zone For claims in these areas, the 

 United States should not use competitive bid- 

 ding, but should adopt the same policy of 

 "first-come, first-registered'" that will guide 

 the International Registry Authority. It 

 should register a claim to explore on behalf 

 of the first i-esponsible qualified business en- 

 tity that applies therefor. Upon discovery, 

 the claim to explore should be converted into a 

 claim to exploit on l)ehalf of that same entity. 

 The Commission seeks to prevent a "flag- 

 of-convenience" problem from arising. No 

 such problem can arise in the intermediate 

 zone because the coastal nation will have ex- 

 clusive access to its mineral resources. But 

 this problem could arise if the United States 

 used competitive bidding in deep sea areas 

 beyond the intermediate zone. All nations 

 have equal access to these areas. Explorers 

 and exploiters would then have an incentive 

 to request nations .which charged less or noth- 

 ing therefor, to register claims on their be- 

 half. The United States could forbid its 

 nationals, or foreign business entities con- 

 trolled by them, from having any other na- 

 tion register claims on their behalf. But this 

 would establish a most undesirable precedent. 

 The Commission prefers to await experience 

 with the recommended alternative of no 

 competitive bidding. 



A Proposed Course of Interim Action 



It will take years to arrive at a new frame- 

 work ; therefore, it is important to secure the 

 earliest possible agreement on the principles 

 by which the nations of the world will be 

 guided in conducting interim mineral re- 

 sources exploration and exploitation in the 

 deep seas. The principles should not foreclose 

 the opi)ortunity to build the reconnuended 

 framework. 



The Commission supports the principles 

 which the United States has proi)osed for 

 adoption by the U.N. General Assembly. 



These principles, which are set forth ver- 

 batim in the Report of the International 

 Panel, are consistent with the framework 

 which the Commission proposes. Essentially, 

 they: 



• Call for redefinition of the outer limits of 

 the continental shelf 



• Exclude any claim or exercise of sover- 

 eignty or sovereign rights over any part of 

 the seabed or subsoil beyond the redefined 

 limits 



• Recognize the interest of the international 

 community in the development of mineral 

 resources beyond the redefined shelf 

 through the "dedication as feasible and 

 practicable of a portion of the value" of 

 these resources to "international com- 

 munity purposes" 



• Call for a new framework to be established 

 "as soon as practicable" which will be con- 

 ducive "to the making of investments 

 necesary for the exploration and exploita- 

 tion of resources" beyond the redefined 

 continental shelf. 



Another important principle proposed by 

 the United States is that exploitation "of the 

 natural resources of the ocean floor that oc- 

 curs prior to establishment of the boundary 

 [of the continental shelf] shall be understood 

 not to prejudice its location, regardless of 

 whether the coastal [nation] considers the 

 exploitation to have occurred on its 'conti- 

 nental shelf.' " Tliis principle quite properly 

 seeks to reserve the areas beyond the 200- 

 meter isobath for future international deci- 

 sion. But it gives no indication of what the 

 coastal nations should reasonably consider to 

 be the limits of their "continental shelf" un- 

 til such time as the shelf's boundary is fixed. 



