140 



A. Because we will not know until the review is completed 

 how many changes will be necessary and how fundamental they 

 will be, it is difficult to predict what the receptivity of 

 the Conference will be to any changes we may propose. 



4. With all the difficulties you have mentioned with 

 the current text, do you believe it is likely that the 

 Administration will decide that some of these provisions are 

 acceptable? 



A. Because the review is currently analyzing these 



provisions, I would not want to prejudge the outcome. The 



problems we have cited, however, are those that on their face 



appear harmful to the U.S. interests. They are the ones 



which we have been advised by members of Congress would 



preclude the treaty's acceptance by the Senate or House. 



5. In balancing national security interests, what is 

 the view of the Department of Defense in terms of the need 

 for a reliable supply of strategic minerals vs. navigation 

 rights through international waters? Can one be balanced 

 against the other? 



A. The Department of Defense (DOD) considers that the 



fundamental security objective of U.S. lav; of the sea policy 



is to maximize operational mobility and flexibility of U.S. 



forces through, over, and under the world's oceans. This 



vital interest in retaining navigational rights, particularly 



in chokepoints such as archipelagoes and straits used for 



international navigation, reflects DOD's active concern for 



the maintenance of sea lines of communication open to commerce 



