463 



law, and. in detogation of certain general principles of international 

 law. Such an assertion would be contrary to our established policy of 

 opposing unilateral claims as a means of solving high seas problems, 

 could result in protests by other states, is unnecessary in the light of 

 the fact that the prospects for effective international action under 

 this country's leadership are quite good. 



The accommodation of various uses of the high seas, as I mentioned 

 earlier, has been a fundamental issue in the development of the law 

 of the sea. Article 2 of the Tigh Seas Convention provides inter alia: 



"The freedoms that is navigation, fishing, laying submarine cables 

 and pipelines, flying over the high seas, and others which are recog- 

 nized, by the general principles of international law, shall be exercised 

 by all states with reasonable regard to the interests of other states in 

 their exercise of the freedom of the high seas." 



It is thus clear that dumping must be conducted with reasonable 

 for the interests of other states in their exercise of the various free- 

 doms of the high seas. This obviously includes the protection of the 

 high seas environment and its fisheries and living resources. More- 

 over, it can be anticipated that a future international treaty on dump- 

 ing would be likely to place very heavy emphasis on the need to pro- 

 tect the common interests states have in preservation of the marine 

 environment. 



Wliat I would like to emphasize is that we cannot unilaterally re- 

 solve these marine pollution problems by extending our jurisdiction 

 in violation of accepted principles of international law. We must 

 resolve these problems multilaterally and we are presently working 

 to do so in several different formns. 



The Preparatory Committee for the 1973 Law of the Sea Confer- 

 ence has charged one of its three subcommittees to work on the prob- 

 lem of marine pollution. I expect this committee to produce treaty 

 provisions for the 1973 Law of the Sea Conference establishing inter- 

 national protection for the marine environment. In this connection, 

 I had the honor to serve as U.S. representative to the Preparatory 

 Coimnittee for the Law of the Sea Conference which met in Geneva 

 last month, and I there specifically suggested ocean dumping as one 

 aspect of the marine pollution problem that required international 

 action. I am certain the committee will be pleased to note that the 

 United States was the first country to present such proposals to the 

 preparatory committee for specific action to combat marine pollution. 

 With your permission, I would like to make copies of our recent 

 statement in the preparatory committee available to this committee. 



Mr. DiNGELL. Without objection, they will be received and inserted 

 in the record at this point. 



(The document follows:) 



[Press release from Enlarged United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses 

 of the Seabed and the Ocean Floor Beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction, 

 Subcommittee III, Mar. 25, 1971] 



Statement bt the Honoeable John R. Stevenson, U.S. Representative 



Mr. Chakman : The two principal subjects assigned to Subcommittee III are 

 "preservation of marine environment (including, inter alia, the prevention of 

 pollution) and scientific research." 



