30 



For these reasons, Mr. Chairman, I strongly urge adoption, by this Committee, 

 and by the Congress, of these pending resohitions expressing the sense of Congress 

 in opposition to the Maltese Resolution. My own bill, H.J. Res. 830, now before 

 the Merchant Marine Committee, goes a step further in calling for a specific study 

 by the National Council on Marine Resources and Engineering Development 

 of the resources of the ocean floor. It is apparent that we must move swiftly 

 to develop the technology we need in order to deal effectively with these political 

 problems centering around the ocean floor and its resources. 



I would urge, Mr. Chairman that the legislative history of these various resolu- 

 tions show that the Congress requests the President to instruct the United 

 States Ambassador to offer alternative proposals to the United Nations General 

 Assembly calling for further study, and calling for a moratorium on action pending 

 the outcome of the 1969 revision of the Convention on the Continental Shelf. 



Thank you. 



Mr. Reinecke. I serve on the Subcommittee on Oceanography of 

 the Merchant Marine Committee and all of us on that committee are 

 very much concerned and alarmed over the situation. I am happy to 

 say personally that I find our State Department's })osition as given 

 before the committee is one certainly not of full endorsement of this 

 resolution and it appears that the crisis aspect of it is not as apparent 

 as we thought at the beginning. However, I certainly would like to 

 commend the chairman and the members of the subcommittee for (1) 

 the attendance here today, and (2) the expeditious handling of this 

 matter. It is something I think needs to be considered seriously by the 

 Congress before it becomes a matter on the agenda for discussion in 

 the United Nations, and I think that you deserve a great deal of credit. 



One point that has not been brought out is the fact that the Soviet 

 Union has announced its intention to introduce a resolution before 

 the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO to 

 create a working group to draft a convention to deal with the explora- 

 tion and exploitation of mineral resources beneath the high seas. 



I point this out because I think if we want to try to trace an evolu- 

 tionary step to this resolution, this may be an indication that the 

 Maltese resolution is only a crack in the door and that there are other 

 thoughts and other motivations perhaps by other countries behind 

 this, so that I think it adds some serious moment to the Maltese 

 resolution in the light of what may follow as a result of the disposition 

 of this resolution. 



I think also we have to consider that while we are talking here 

 specifically about the seabed — and, as Mr. Hanna noted there is a 

 great deal of difference between the surface and the body — once again 

 by accretion these things have a definite relationship to one another. 

 Whatever laws, resolutions and regulations that may be adopted on 

 the seabed, may have a way of getting into the body of the sea and 

 in some way affecting the surface and the freedom of the seas. Cer- 

 tainly we have a great historical body of law concerning the siu'face 

 and I think this must be given serious consideration. 



With regard to the Russians submitting a resolution, they have, I 

 understand, several people of very high position on this Intergovern- 

 mental Oceanographic Commission and further down the road, as was 

 pointed out, is the fact that in 1969 the Continental Shelf Convention 

 is to reconvene once again. So when w^e talk here in terms of disposition 

 or establishing a sovereignty for these lands beyond the Continental 

 Shelf, in view of the fact that that definition itself is in such a state of 

 flux, I think we are dealing with something that may have some very 



