15 



claim jurisdiction and control over Cortes Bank.^^ By ignoring the 

 ocean depths in all these cases exceeding 200 meters, and by relying 

 exclusively on the technological capabilities and the feasibility of ex- 

 ploitation, the United States is, in essence, asserting rights to further 

 expansion into adjacent areas as its technology permits. But how far 

 is "adjacent"? 



It is not inconceivable that the lack of limits to the continental shelf 

 as defined in both the Geneva Convention and the Outer Continental 

 Shelf Lands Act has left the door open for a possible future claim 

 that the continental shelf of the United States extends all the way to 

 Hawaii. 



It is evident, therefore, that the dependence of the delineation of 

 the continental shelf on the technological feasibility of exploiting it 

 can be used as license for encroachment. It has already led to confusion 

 and may well lead to grievances among the nations of the world. Con- 

 tinued encroachment would weaken the effectiveness of international 

 law. 



These are major shortcomings in the state of the art in the legal 

 definition of the continental shelf. There remains the most important 

 question of all : What is the fate of the deep sea beyond the shelf ? 

 The outer limit of the shelf itself being non-existent, it is not sur- 

 prising that the Geneva Conventions have not addressed themselves 

 to what lies beyond. The legal literature is replete with numerous 

 papers and theses on these issues. They point up the need for revision 

 of the Geneva Conventions and for a fresh look at the oceans as a 

 world entity to be shared by the nations of the world in an orderly 

 and equitable manner. 



III. Seabed Resources 



The focus of world attention, and the main object of international 

 concern in ocean affairs, has been the seabed and the subsoil of the 

 ocean floor, particularly their mineral content. The seabed contains a 

 variety of mineral resources ranging from beach sand and gravel, 

 through heavy minerals associated with beach deposits, to surface 

 deposits of manganese and phosphorite, and subsurface petroleum 

 resources. 



Deposits on the Seabed Surface 



BUILDING MATERIALS 



The most obvious and readily apparent hard deposits are sand and 

 gravel. In terms of tonnage, this important commodity is by far the 



^5 A group of San Diego businessmen intended to build an artificial island by filling on 

 tOD of Cortes Bank wliicli lies under two fathoms of water. Tliis was to become a nation 

 called "Abalonia." Cortes Bank lies about 110 miles off San Diego and 50 miles off San 

 Clemente Island, and is separated from the Island's territorial sea by waters reaching a 

 depth of 1400 meters. 



Here, the Bank "admits of tlie exploitation of natural resources" and is adjacent to 

 the United States of America and, therefore, can be considered part of the United States 

 juridical continental shelf. Furthermore, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act defines 

 the legal shelf as all submerged lands seaward of the lands granted to the States and 

 "of which tlie subsoil and seabed appertain to the United States and are subject to its 

 jurisdiction and control." The Act further authorizes the Secretary of the Army to "pre- 

 vent obstruction to navigation [as to] artificial islands and fixed structures located on 

 the outer Continental Shelf." 



Accordingly, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Army formally ad- 

 vised the proposed island builders that their work could not be undertaken without the 

 consent of the United States. [43 U.S.C. Sec. 1333 (f) (1964).] 



