sea regions beyond the Continental Shelf of any nation entails also 
the claim to some degree of exclusive use of the area, perhaps amount- 
ing to temporary or permanent acquisition of the area as part of na- 
tional territory. In connection with Man in the Sea operations the 
interest of national security may make it necessary or strategically de- 
sirable to occupy areas of the ocean for extended periods (see sec. 4). 
Contemporary conceptions of the international law of the sea evolved 
before it was technologically feasible to occupy areas of the ocean 
floor for extended periods, hence it appears that the legal consequences 
of such uses of the ocean floor require consideration of applicable 
principles of law and desirable adaptation of these principles to antic- 
ipated conditions. 
(4) Buoys. 
The Panel recommends a well-planned system of employment of 
buoys as an important method of implementing the national ocean 
program (see sec. 6, app. II). Numerous legal problems may be en- 
countered as the system is developed and expanded, including issues 
about (a) access to various parts of the oceans subject to differing legal 
regimes; (6) principles to be employed in determining liability for 
damage, deliberate and inadvertent, to the buoys and to vessels; (c) 
prescriptions for theft protection of the buoy system and the data it 
contains; and (d) principles for allocating jurisdiction to adjudicate 
disputes involving the above issues. 
(5) Development of new materials in the ocean (see secs. 4, 7, app. 
IIT). 
The present need for substantial government investment in develop- 
ment of raw materials in the oceans is questionable, because reliance 
can be placed upon market forces and upon private experience in 
appraising the economic attractiveness of these ventures. Neverthe- 
less, there appears to be an obvious governmental role in providing a 
legal framework within which development can take place if and when 
it appears desirable. To the extent that absence of the protection 
afforded by such a framework deters initiative by indsutry in develop- 
ing the hard-mineral resources of the ocean, for example, only govern- 
ment initiative can provide a remedy. Even if economic considera- 
tions are not now favorable for expansion of hard-mineral exploita- 
tion to deep-sea areas, the possibility of improvement in circumstances 
due to technological breakthrough, emergence of different market con- 
ditions and changes in political relations warrant study and continued 
appraisal of the situation in anticipation of eventual government ac- 
tion to provide a satisfactory legal basis for effective exploration and 
exploitation. 
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