In a purely practical way, we as a world can never hope to realize any 

 of the postulated benefits from the oceans if research is hampered. Even 

 now it is proceeding at altogether too slow a pace to match the oft- 

 stated expectations. International interference with research is far more 

 serious than that on the national level. It has happened that scientific 

 inquiry has been blocked in various disciplines in one nation or another 

 at one time or another usually for ideological reasons. Fortunately for 

 mankind, if not for that nation in particular, scientific inquiry advanced 

 elsewhere. At a later date, the laggard nation was able to catch up, if 

 not to repair the damage completely. This corrective is not available if 

 the inhibition to science is on a global scale. More fundamentally, any 

 further limitations on freedom of inquir)' that are not for basic safety or the 

 general welfare (such as those to control pollution) are a dangerous ad- 

 dition to a list of limitations that is already too large. 



It is possible to understand and sympathize with the position taken by 

 the developing nations. Mostly former colonies, they are sensitive to any 

 possibility, however remote, that their share of the oceanic resources may 

 be usurped by the more advanced nations who have the technology to 

 exploit these resources. They transfer this concern to research as well, 

 believing that their poor or nonexistent research capabilities put them at a 

 gross disadvantage in obtaining their share of the resources. This could 

 bring major oceanic development to a halt if such fears are translated 

 into conventions restricting research on the open seas, because research 

 and education do go together, and are not developed serially. Thus, halt- 

 ing exploration or research until the developing nations reduce the re- 

 search gap would lead to a total slowdown, further frustrating hopes for 

 fulfillment of the postulated benefits available to mankind from develop- 

 ment of oceanic resources. It would also greatly impede applied research 

 in nonextractive uses of the oceans such as meteorological research, which, 

 for the immediate future, may be the most beneficial of all efforts. 



RECOMMENDED COURSES OF ACTION 



NACOA recommends means by which the United States may exert 

 leadership based on its acknowledged advanced capabilities in oceanic 

 technology. The 1958 Conference was successful largely because of the 

 United States and the technical support that could be brought to bear 

 on the deliberations. The generally formal, legalistic approach that has 

 been followed in the last several years seems to be moving too slowly. If 

 progress is to be made, we must change our approach by recognizing the 

 obstacles to progress in negotiations and by altering our procedures ac- 

 cordingly. Our principal recommendation is to engage other countries, 

 particularly the developing nations, in as many joint projects with the 

 United States as possible and in as great a variety as reasonable. This en- 



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