lation of proposals for ensuring the most effective arrange- 

 ments for an expanded program of international cooperation to 

 assist in a better understanding of the marine environment, and 

 for initiating and strengthening marine education and train- 

 ing programs. 



The report of the Secretary-General containing the survey 

 and proposals was submitted through the Economic and Social 

 Council to the General Assembly in April, 1968. The Ad Hoc 

 Committee on the Sea-Bed which had been formed during the 

 time which the report was being prepared was able to make 

 extensive use of the information contained in it. 



The Malta Proposal 



In the summer of 1967, the Permanent Mission of Malta to 

 the U. N. proposed that the agenda of the next General Assem- 

 bly convening in September include an item regarding a treaty 

 on the ocean floor and its resources. Ambassador Pardo thus 

 forced the U. N. and its participating members to begin con- 

 sidering the poUtical and defense aspects being raised by rapidly 

 advancing technology in the field of oceanography. 



The proposal suggested that the treaty assure that the sea- 

 bed and the ocean floor, underlying the seas beyond the limits 

 of present national jurisdiction, are not subject to national 

 appropriation; will be exploited in a manner consistent to the 

 U. N. Charter; will be used in the interests of mankind and to 

 promote the development of poor countries; and will be re- 

 served exclusively for peaceful purposes. In order to carry 

 out these principles, an international agency was proposed to 

 assume jurisdiction over the sea-bed; to regulate, supervise, 

 and control all activities; and to ensure compliance to provisions 

 of the treaty. 



Out of the possible regimes for the ocean floor, Malta 

 chose a sophisticated form of international control in order to 

 force a confrontation of the issues facing the international com- 

 munity. Other alternatives include "wait and see," national 

 lake — following the 1958 Convention on the Continental Shelf, 

 flag nation, and other types of international control. A discus- 

 sion of these issues can be found in the American Assembly 

 publication, Uses of the Seas, in Professor Henkin's chapter. 



United States Reaction 



It is worthwhile to examine the reaction to the Malta 

 proposal of several groups in the U. S. in order to gain insight 

 into their possible positions on future proposals for international 

 agreement. 



Congress. Many members of Congress reacted swiftly to 

 what they may have perceived as the imminent yielding of the 

 sea-bed to the U. N. for eternity. Almost two dozen resolu- 



