332 



There has been a great deal of activity in looking at such initia- 

 tives. A number of initiatives were discuSwSed in the Council's report^ 

 and a number are now under discussion. 



Mr. Lennon". Mr. Secretary, you are familiar, of course, with the 

 request of both the Council and the Commission through a letter di- 

 rected to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate 

 over the signature of the Director of the Bureau of the Budget re- 

 questing extension for 6 months for the life of the Commission and also 

 providing, too, for the extension of the life of the Council for 6 

 months after the target date for the submission of the Commission's 

 report. 



_ I take it that you are in agreement with that and realize the objec- 

 tive purposes which are sought. 



Dr. Frosch. Yes, I do. I think that is a most reasonable thing to- 

 do. I think if we did not have that, if the Congress felt unwilling to- 

 authorize the requested extensions, we would run some risk that the 

 reports and the actions would come out at a time when they might not 

 receive the attention which, I think, we would all like to have them 

 receive. 



Mr. Lennon. Mr. Secretary, as Chairman of this newly established 

 committee which took the place of the ICO, you are familiar with the 

 mineral and oil leases that the Department of Interior negotiates with 

 various sectors of private enterprise. Is it your understanding that 

 those leases go beyond the Continental Shelf or out to the Continental 

 Shelf? 



Dr. Frosch. If I remember correctly the discussions I have had 

 about that, I think that some of them would be considered to go beyond 

 the Continental Shelf in the strict definition of the shelf. 



Mr. Lennon. I was able to obtain some figures about a week ago 

 concerning the actual dollar amounts that were paid to the Depart- 

 ment of the Interior for these leases. It ran into a considerable sum 

 of money. 



The thing that will have some interest in the light of the so-called 

 Malta resolution which would in effect provide for turning over to 

 the United Nations in trusteeship for all of the countries of the world, 

 particularly the underprivileged and underdeveloped countries, the re- 

 sources beyond the Continental Shelf. If the Department of Interior 

 makes long-term contracts with the private sector beyond the Conti- 

 nental Shelf, what effect would that have on any effort in the United 

 Nations to attempt to turn over to that body in trusteeship the sea 

 bottoms beyond the Continental Shelf ? 



Dr. Frosch. My understanding of the situation is that under the 

 present convention on the Continental Shelf these leases fit under the 

 portion of the convention that states exploitation of the Continental 

 Shelf or beyond it to such depth as exploitation may be made. That 

 is not the precise wording but I think it is a reasonable paraphrase. 

 So that under the existing International Convention, which I would 

 presume has the force of international law insofar as it bears upon 

 such leasing, this is a perfectly reasonable and proper set of leases. 



Presumably, if something as sweeping as the Malta Kesolution were 

 to come into effect, then unless there were a proviso that it excluded 

 preexisting arrangements, there would certainly be some interference 



