It is clear that the Navy is responsible for a large portion of 

 the Nation's present oceanography program. Because it is also 

 responsible for the national security with respect to the oceans, 

 it will probably not discontinue its work even if a civilian agency 

 is established. It will also continue to insist upon substantial 

 freedom in its exploration of international waters. Therefore, 

 the Navy's interests cannot be disregarded in the determination 

 of either domestic policies for ocean exploration and exploita- 

 tion or of international policies regarding a regime for the 

 ocean floor which will certainly have to involve the ocean 

 space above the floor in some manner. As indicated elsewhere 

 in this report, the Navy is quite concerned about the restrictions 

 on the movements of military vessels which might result from 

 internationalization and licensing of the sea-bed. 



The United States appears to be making a distinction in the 

 United Nations between civilian and military considerations as 

 it attempts to relegate the military questions to the Eighteen- 

 Nation Disarmament Committee. This same type of separation 

 is evident in the Report of the Commission of Marine Science, 

 Engineering, and Resources. Although it might be possible to 

 treat both aspects in parallel, there are serious problems in this 

 type of approach. Several countries, and perhaps some groups 

 in the U. S., feel that the two considerations are inseparable and 

 it would be neither advisable nor desirable to treat them other- 

 wise. 



There is a further problem in the distinction between peace- 

 ful, non-peaceful, and military uses of the sea and the sea-bed. 

 In endorsing peaceful uses only, it is not clear what is being 

 precluded. If the Navy's programs are to be considered by 

 definition the antithesis of peaceful uses, then the U. S. will 

 have great difficulty implementing its avowed desire for exclu- 

 sively peaceful exploration of the ocean floor. If on the other 

 hand, the more realistic position is taken that certain military 

 programs can be peaceful, it will be necessary to set about the 

 task of determining where the lines are to be drawn. 



36 



