498 



Mr. Pollack, No ; I do not. 



Mr, Dow, I had one more question, Mr. Chairman, and that is, dur- 

 ing the pendency of this study and report that seems to be under way 

 in the U.N, is there any moratorium on activity by individuals or coun- 

 tries on the deep ocean floor? Is there anything that would prevent 

 activity or extension of activity to a greater extent by the U.S. inter- 

 ests or any other interests ? 



Mr. Pollack, No, sir. 



Mr, Dow. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. Lennon. The gentleman from California, Mr. Eeinecke? 



Mr. Eeinecke. Gentlemen, I am concerned a little about the state- 

 ment on page 14, which is a rephrasing of Mr. Goldberg's statement. 

 You say he pointed out that the deep ocean floor should not become 

 a stage for competing national sovereignties, but, rather, should be 

 open to exploration and use by all states, without discrimination. Can 

 we not pretty well conclude from that that we agree with the Pardo 

 resolution, at least in philosophy, and further that we are saying in 

 effect, yes, we agree but we do not have the mechanics at the time to 

 agree with the details ? 



Mr. Pollack. No. First of all, sir, we did not intend in any way 

 whatsoever, in our version here, to alter the sense of what Ambassa- 

 dor Goldberg stated. He in turn was providing an interpretation of 

 President Johnson's statement on the occasion of the commissioning of 

 the Oceanographer in which the President sta/ted : 



Under no circumstances, we believe, must we ever allow the prospects of rich 

 harvest and mineral wealth to create a new form of colonial competition among 

 the maritime nations. We must be careful to avoid a race to grab and to hold 

 the lands under the high seas. We must ensure that the deep seas and the ocean 

 bottoms are, and remain, the legacy of all human beings. 



Ambassador Goldberg, referring to that statement, said: 



This means, in our view, that the deep ocean floor should not be a stage for 

 competing claims of national sovereignty. Whatever legal regime for the use of 

 the deep ocean floor may eventually be agreed upon, it should ensure that the 

 deep ocean floor will be open to exploration and use by all states, without 

 discrimination. 



I think the thrust of Mr. Pardo's proposal went far beyond that. 



Mr. Eeinecke. I realize mechanically it did, but I think we have 

 substantially agreed the deep ocean floor, if it is not to become a mat- 

 ter of national sovereignty, it becomes a matter of international 

 sovereignty. 



Mr, Pollack. I suppose that if you do not have national sovereignty 

 one thing you could conceivably have would be international 

 sovereignty. 



Mr. Eeinecke. So we agree in effect with the Pardo resolution and 

 so has the President ? 



Mr. Pollack. We have not yet reached any conclusion. I do not 

 think we are yet satisfied where the merits lie as to the ground rules 

 that ought to apply to the advance by the countries of the world in the 

 ocean bottoms and the extraction of the resources that lie there. 



Mr. Eeinecke. Have you eliminated the national sovereignty ? 



Mr. Pollack. I think there is a point beyond which the Continental 

 Shelf does not go. This is known as the deep ocean floor, and I think 



