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JPRS 82381

3 December 1982

Worldwide Report

LAW OF THE SEA

No. 2T4

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JPRS 82381

3 December 1982

WORLDWIDE REPORT

LAW OF THE SEA

No, 214

CONTENTS

WORLDWIDE AFFAIRS

U.S. Tuna Boats Said To 'Invade' New Zealand Waters

(THE NEW ZEALAND HERALD, 8 Oct 82)

'ASIA

INTER-ASIAN AFFAIRS

Taiwanese Boat Forfeited for Fishing in New Zealand Zone

(THE EVENING POST, 12 Oct 82)

AUSTRALIA

INDIA

Editorial Hits Reagan for U.S. Reversal on Law of Sea Pact

(Editorial; THE WEST AUSTRALIAN, 6 Oct 82)

Marine Survey Teams To Explore Economic Zone

(PATRIOT, 29 Oct 82) k

S&T Minister Announces Plan To Exploit Ocean Wealth

(THE STATESMAN, 6 Nov 82) 5

Briefs

Minister on Seabed Mining 6

-a - [HI - WW - 136]
MALAYSIA

U.S. Stand on Law of Sea Treaty Criticized

(Lumpur International Service, 11 Nov 82)

PHILIPPINES

Minister Speaks on Law of the Sea

(BUSINESS DAI, 5 Nov 82) ..

LATIN AMERICA

CUBA

Havana Looks at U.S. Activities at Sea Conference

(Regula Boorstein; PRISMA LATINOAMERICANO, Sep 82).... 12

Briefs

Indian Ocean Conference Delay Condemned 16

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

MAURITIUS

International Jurists Back Claim to Diego Garcia

(ADVANCE, 21 Sep 82) 17

Delegation To Attend Regional EEZ Talks

(L'EXPRESS, 23 Sep 82) 18

Briefs

Anil Gayan to Mexico for LOS Convention 19

Korean Captain Fined 19

SENEGAL

Review of Nation's Industrial Fishing Industry

(Kader Diopj LE MONDE DIPLOMATIQUE, Oct 82) 20

SOUTH AFRICA

Appeal To Be Made for Stricter Fishing Control

(Johannesburg Domestic Service, 2k Nov 82) 2k

USSR

Reagan Repudiation of Law of Sea Convention Criticized

(Vsevolod Ovchinnikov; PRAVDA, 1$ Jul 82) 25

- b -
WORLDWIDE AFFAIRS

U. S. TUNA BOATS SAID TO 'INVADE' NEW ZEALAND WATERS

Auckland THE NEW ZEALAND HERALD in English 8 Oct 82 p 5

[Text] Press Assn . Wellington

The Government has

been accused of allowing

United States tuna boats

to "invade" the inshore

fishing waters off Northland.

Labour's agriculture

and fisheries spokesman,

the Hon Sir Basil Arthur

(Timaru), yesterday lashed out at Government policies which, he said, were

not paying sufficient attention to sustaining fishing stocks.

Speaking during the

estimates debate, he told

Parliament: "We are not

learning as rapidly as we

should the extent of the

resources."'

But, he said, the Government was allowing territorial waters to be "invaded" by 11 American

tuna boats.

Inshore fishing was already "over-fished, overcapitalised and over-manned" and the Government

should encourage New

Zealand fishermen.

Instead its policy was to

"open the door for American and other fishermen

to come in."

New Zealand boats had

caught 70 per cent of the

tuna taken in territorial

waters last year but were

being denied the chance

to catch more, he said.

The Minister of Fisheries, Mr Maclntyre, said

United States boats on

charter had been allowed

only to fish the often dangerous waters off the west

coast of Northland.

"Very large" quantities

of tuna had been spotted

in those waters last year

and two United ' States

boats allowed a trial there

had taken big catches.

But New Zealand boats

had rejected the opportunity to fish there — "no

New Zealand boat would

go near them."

The minister said:

"There is a resource

going to waste. If New

Zealanders are not going

to touch those waters I

have said we would give

the United States a go."

New Zealand fishermen

had had the opportunity

from the start, he said,

but had not taken advantage of it.

CSO: 5200/9111
INTER-ASIAN AFFAIRS

TAIWANESE BOAT FORFEITED FOR FISHING IN NEW ZEALAND ZONE

Wellington THE EVENING POST in English 12 Oct 82 p 17

[Text ] AUCKLAND, Oct 11 (PA). - The captain of a Taiwanese fishing boat caught fishing in the New Zealand fishing zone was

today fined $10,000 and his vessel and its

catch were forfeited to the Crown.

He was also ordered to pay the navy

$42,000 in costs, $500 in harbour board

costs and $100 solicitor's costs.

Hsing-Chau Hsu, 42, admitted a charge

in the Auckland District Court that he was

the master of a foreign fishing craft, not

being licensed, which was used for fishing

in the exclusive economic zone of New Zealand, on October 2.

For the Department of Agriculture and

Fisheries, Mr Rodger Haines said Hsu was

the commander of the Taiwanese fishing

vessel Feng Yuan No 51.

Owned by the Feng Yuan company of

Taiwan and operated from Pago Pago,

American Samoa, the vessel engageu in

long-line fishing.

Judge P M Brown heard that Hsu told

the naval boarding party that he was not

aware that New Zealand's exclusive economic fishing zone extended to the

Kermadec Islands off which he had been

fishing, and that he did not realise he

needed a New Zealand licence to fish there.

He stated he understood that Koreans

fished in that area all the time.

Counsel for Hsu, Mr G B Hubble, said

where Hsu had been fishing could be described as a secondary part of the economic

zone.

It was an appropriate case for considerable leniency, he said.

Judge Browne convicted Hsu, saying

Hsu knew that the economic zone existed

and should have checked the extent of that

zone

CSO: 5200/9112
AUSTRALIA

EDITORIAL HITS REAGAN FOR U.S. REVERSAL ON LAW OF SEA PACT

Perth THE WEST AUSTRALIAN in English 6 Oct 82 p 6

[Editorial]

[Text]

REPORTS of renewed congressional

pressure on the Reagan administration

to work towards a ratification of the law

of the sea convention are welcome.

American intransigence could upset an -

international covenant that is one of tne

most ambitious ever undertaken.

The law of the sea seeks to enforce

agreement among • nations on (among

other things) how the sea's resources

should be exploited and shared. It may

not be a topic to fascinate the average

citizen, but' its ramifications will,

eventually affect everyone. .,....,

America's refusal to sign the document

— which has- been approved by 130

countries, including the Soviet Union —

could have unfortunate long-term consequences. Senator Charles Percy, the.

influential chairman of the U.S. Senate's

foreign relations committee, has described the U.S. stand as the country's biggest

single failure.

Mr Reagan was responsible ^for

America's refusal to become party to a

document with which it had been deeply

involved for the eight years in which the

treaty was framed. Under President

Carter the U.S. was willing to sign when

ratification was required. As it-stands,

the text contains a considerable amount

of the Carter administration's contribution to the point where the- country's

current dissatisfaction with the treaty,

becomes almost ironic.

Mr Reagan's main objections are.

philosophical. He sees proposals for an

international mining instrumentality—

to be known as "The Enterprise'—as

running counter to the spirit of free :

enterprise.^ is also opposed to proposals.;,

for a mandatory passing of technological know-how from private mining

concerns to "The Enterprise." . ' !

His stand goes against the motivating

-spirit of the convention, which seeks to,

ensure that the sea's resources are'

shared. It does not try to prohibit private

mining, but enables those nations without the means of exploitation to take

a share of the sea's wealth and assist in

extracting it. In refusing to sign the U.S. <

is not only denying under-developed

nations the share of its technological:

expertise and financial support considered necessary for the success of "The

Enterprise"; it is also laying the foundation for future conflict over who is

entitled to what in respect of ocean

resources.

There is some parallel between the

Reagan administration's attitude to the

law of the sea and its approach to the

north-south dialogue on aid to developing countries. The Third World viewpoint — that America is unsympathetic

and ultimately uncaring — may well be

reflected at the Commonwealth Heads of

Government Regional Meeting in Fiji

this month, where both the law of the sea

and the north-south issue are expected

to be discussed. There is unlikely to be

outright condemnation of the U.S., but

there may be an expression of concern

and dissatisfaction at U.S. attitudes.

Should that dissatisfaction be allowed

to grow, the US. may find that its

unwillingness to commit itself comes at

a high price.

CSO: 5200/7508
MARINE SURVEY TEAMS TO EXPLORE ECONOMIC ZONE

INDIA

New Delhi PATRIOT in English 29 Oct 82 p 5

[Text]

Th* Geological Survey of Indian

(GSI> has constituted three type*;?

of task force» to implement th« i

programme of marine survey and }

exploration. ./.v.-,..»-■■- •-,::., < <■■'•'$

i According'to Gsisourcer here, ''i

each task force «nil be.entrusted ; with th«' survey and exploration • programme of coastal, exclusive

Economic Zone (EEZ) and dee»

sea.' ••-•- -.• - .?--:: :;.':---;..; -:,' /<: Headed by a director as chief J

scientist,. each task force would

be responsible for carryina out |

field work,- laboratory studies -j

processing of data and submit» |

ting the report of their respee- j

tive jobs, the sources said.. ; , .

In addition to the existing ia« ;

boratory facilities, the GSI had.;

Unalised the setting up of two " more modern laboratories—On*

at Mangalore and the other at ; Visakhapatnam for the analysis 1

of sea-bed materials tobe collected during cruises. The efluip- '

ment would be available under ;

the scheme of acquisition of coa* ;

tal vessels from the Netherlands, .*

The sources said the GSI had '

drawn up. a detailed proeramue ;

for- marine survey and earplora. •

tion for the current field season ',

1982-83 laying emphasis on the

.geological features that might '■■

localise concentrations of hydro» •' •'

carbons and to a limited extent ' pbospharic and barium modules,,

with a probable association «f -

radioactive. minerals. :..«^;

*:-The'GSritardivided;its w-«v'l

gramme into three oceanic regf* i

mes—nearshore shallow water« ;

. continental shelf and. margin

water«, and deep sea waters

The first regime extending la

nattitlcal miles was expected to

contain concentration of hard

und heavy minerals, like «menite

monavite magnetite, zircon, gold

«id diamond.^: .'• • >

In deep sea ocean floor tti*

mineral resources of ;conse>

nuence were cobalt in addition

to iron and manganes, the sour ~

ces said.

The sources said the Known

.! BoIymetalHe area of the central

Indian Ocean was about 2.000 Sm j

ftrom the .southern t'n of the

country. The Wharton basin was ;

at a similar distance from the

Andaman Islands and the Ara- ;

Man Sea was shout 600 km from

the west coast.

The GSI had given priority to

the EEZ work which would be .

taken up during' the current

field season on the east coast

between the Hooghly river

mouth and Balasore and on th*

west coast off Cochin and Trivandrum. the sources' said.

Meanwhile, the GSI had acquired an ocean-going vessel 'Samudra Manthan' for work in the

EEZ and international water.-

The vessel, now being modernised in England, was exnected to

be available by November next,

the sources added.

CSO: 5200/7003
INDIA

S&T MINISTER ANNOUNCES PLAN TO EXPLOIT OCEAN WEALTH

Calcutta THE STATESMAN in English 6 Nov 82 p 9

[Text]

NEW DELHI, Nov. ^-prhe"' Government announced

in the Lok Sabha today a: plan to give a "dynamic thrust"

for the creation of a self-reliant technological base to exploi^:oceanwealth« 5 'j:~t

,.^J,^ ,rU'*>>:"'.'.. :'.■■:■■■■. . ".,.'.'*

'The-ocean policy statement out»

lining tie plan.was laid «n the

table of the House by Mr C. P,

N. Singh, Minister of State for Set

ence and Technology and Ocean

Development.

It was noted that backed by the

U.N. law of the seas. India's fron»

tiers had been extended by two

million square km of ocean space.

Consequently. India had access to

new sources of energy, minerals

and food. * " The law extended the economic

jurisdiction of coasta' States to

an area ranging-Jrom 200 to SSO

miles from the coastline. An ocean

area, equal to nearly two-thirds of

the land" masi'bid come under

India's jurisdiction, giving India

exclusive rights to utilize the re*

sources in the region. TS

It said that India had been re-;

cognized as a "pioneer/investor" to

ocean mining giving the country:;!

"the exclusive right to operate in

an area of up to 150,000 square^

kilometres in the high seas for

recovery and processing of poly- j metallic nodules". ;,., si- •*• *■■■» - *'-*'»'

-The main' thrust'«! India's ocean?

policy would be on optimal utiliia*<

lion of living1 resources like fish*

and't seaweed.,-' exploitation of non-I

living resources like hydrocarbons*;

placer deposits and polymetallic

nodules from deip sea; arid harnes-r

sing of ocean energy from waves'

and tides.1. /.-■■■■ -_ •••• i

; The pollcyr statement said that;

Inuia would have to develop appro-,

priate technologies- tor harness4 theresources,' build ä supporting infrastructure! and create a self-reli--

ant technological base. To meet*

the challenge the Department of

Ocean - Development will act as a

focal point and work in conjunction with concerned agencies

which will be strengthened. • A" centralized date system will

be set -iip'by DOD for collection

and dissemination ofiinformation'1

acquired indigenously; and ', from

abroad. The statement said that an

important component of the ocean

development programme should

be the acquisition of technology,

and setting up. of facilities and services to-operate large-sized fishing

vessels to harvest fish frons. deeper waters, -''-:

CSO: 5200/7004
INDIA

BRIEFS

MINISTER ON SEABED MINING—There is no report of nodules in India's exclusive

economic zone, Minister of State for Science and Technology, C P N Singh

informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, reports PTI. The Minister told Mr

G C Bhattaccharya in a written reply that an oceanographic research vessel

built in the Federal Republic of Germany was likely to arrive in India in

May next year. The member had asked the reasons for India not starting

sea-bed mining of "nodules" within India's exclusive.economic zone in the

Indian Ocean when even the existing research ship Gavshani was sufficient

for purpose. The Minister told Mr V Gopalasamy that India had been recognised as a pioneer investor for sea-bed mining in the resolution adopted by

the U N conference on the law of the sea on 30 April last. After signing

the convention on the law of the sea, which would be opened for signature

in December this year, India intended to register its claim for a mining

area. He said survey work was in progress and the National Institute of

Oceanography, Goa, was conducting these surveys as an agency of the Department of Ocean Development. [Text] [New Delhi PATRIOT in English 22 Oct 82

P 5]

CSO: 5200/7002
MALAYSIA

U.S. STAND ON LAW OF SEA TREATY CRITICIZED

BK111151 Kuala Lumpur International Service in English 0800 GMT 11 Nov 82

[Unattributed commentary]

[Text] The president of the third UN conference on the law of the sea,

Mr Tommy Koh of Singapore, stated yesterday that the United States may be

taken before the International Court of Justice if it permits the mining

of seabed in opposition to the UN Law of the Sea Treaty.

Under President Ronald Reagan, the United States has stated that it will reject

the treaty because of certain provisions that will affect deep-sea mining.

The law of the sea proposes that an international seabed authority will be

created to oversee the mining of trillion of dollars of cobalt, manganese,

copper and nickel found in nodules on the seabed.

The United States feels that in view of its advanced technology, it should

literally be given a free hand in the mining of the seabed. The United States

had earlier proposed that four American and one French firms be given the status

of pioneer companies, which should be allowed to commence operations as soon

as possible. But this proposal has ignored the claim of the Japanese and the

Russians, who are also fast developing the capacity for deep-sea mining.

Other Third World nations, like India and Brazil, also have the base for the

development of such an industry. This unseemingly scramble for the wealth of

the seabed has been further complicated by the wishes of the huge number of

Third World nations, who feel that they too did have a share of the wealth.

The United States has attempted to maintain its preeminent role by seeking to

increase the power of industrialized countries in the council that will make

policy for the global government of the seabed. It has also rejected the

provision that calls for a sharing of the technology used for seabed mining.

As such, the United States is attempting to reach a position where its companies

would profit the most from seabed mining operation. This attitude smacks of

colonialism and it is a rejection of the concept that the seas are a common

heritage of mankind. Such a selfish attitude will certainly not be tolerated

and it is only natural for the other nations to se'ek redress.
Singapore Ambassador Tommy Koh's warning about going to the International

Court of Justice to get legal protection was rather mild given the huge stake

involved..

The question of international sea borders, territorial and maritime claims,

seabed mining and offshore petroleum drilling and the whole host of other issues

are at the moment bogged in such confusion that could provoke wars and other

conflicts.

The UN Law of the Sea is the most comprehensive sea law ever devised by men.

It calls for the creation of a 12-mile territorial limit for maritime nations,

a 200-mile exclusive fishing zone for their fishermen, a 350-mile exclusive

preserve along the continental shelf for oil and gas rights and a free access

by all ships through the various straits.

Many other contentious issues will be resolved by the UN Law of the Sea Treaty.

Its importance is illustrated by the fact that other nations have gone ahead

and have begun to ratify the treaty, which will definitely become operative

and legal soon, with or without the United States.

CSO: 5200/4304
PHILIPPINES

MINISTER SPEAKS ON LAW OF THE SEA

HK060236 Manila BUSINESS DAY in English 5 Nov 82 p 2

[Text] The country attained "immeasurable benefits" under the recently completed

convention on the law of the sea, according to Arturo M. Tolentino, minister

of state for foreign affairs.

Speaking at yesterday's meeting of the Rotary Club of Manila, Tolentino said

the Philippine delegation obtained recognition of the "archipelago principle."

The concept was first introduced by Tolentino in 1956 at the United Nations

General Assembly.

The archipelago principle, explained Tolentino, assures the country of sovereignty

over all the waters around and between her islands, regardless of depth or breadth.

For the Philippines, these waters—known as "archipelagic waters"—measure

about 170,200 square nautical miles.

Tolentino, who is a member of the Batasang Pambansa, arrived 2 weeks ago from

New York for the final meeting of the conference on the law of the sea and a

session in Vienna of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law.

Zone: In addition to the "archipelago principle," Tolentino said the convention

adopted the concept of the 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). For the

country, this means that around the archipleago, there will be an exclusive

economic zone of 200 nautical miles wide.

All the living and nonliving resources and below the waters of the zone now

belong exclusively to the Philippines, according to Tolentino. He said the

country's EEZ is around 395,400 square nautical miles of water, which, he said,

is in addition to the historic territorial waters measuring 263,300 square

nautical miles.

Tolentino said the 200-mile EEZ is in lieu of claims for territorial seas

wider than 12 miles and even extending to 200 miles at the conference.

The new convention on the law of the sea simply called "convention" gives the

country sovereign rights over the continental shelf for the exploration and

exploitation of natural resources, Tolentino said. This right, he said, is

exclusive up to 200 nautical miles from the baselines along the shores.
He added that beyond 200 miles and up to the outer edge of the continental

margin, the country will have to share nonliving resources with the international community, from 1 percent to 7 percent of production.

Law: According to Tolentino, it took 12 years to complete the law of the sea.

Once it becomes effective, he said, the "convention" will be the universal law

of the waters of the earth. It will be the ruling international law that will

govern and regulate the rights and duties of all nations in the enjoyment and

use of the seas, their waters and resources, and even the air space above them,

to a certain extent.

During his speech, Tolentino also discussed the United States' opposition to

and its "no" vote on the sea law convention and its possible effect.

He said while the U.S. has not objected to the other provisions^of the convention, its opposition was against the portion on deep seabed mining and related

matters. This refers to the exploration and exploitation of the resources

in the deep seabed outside the limits of the national jurisdiction of states,

Tolentino said.

He said this is in line with UN General Assembly resolutions leading to the

convening of the conference on the sea law, deep seabed whose resources were

declared "the common heritage of mankind." The conference, he said, was^

mandated, among others, to establish an "equitable international regime,"

including an international machinery, for the area and its resources.

Rights: Accordingly, Tolentino said, the conference provided in the convention

that all rights in the resources of the area are "vested in mankind as a whole,"

and at the same time, set up an international machinery, called the international

seabed authority. The machinery is charged with organizing and controlling

activities in the area, with the purpose of administering its resources. One

of the principal organs of the machinery is called enterprise, which was formed

to carry out activities in the area.

The U.S. objection is anchored on the belief that the convention would not

"allow exploration and development, under reasonable terms and conditions."

Tolentino cited specific arguments of the U.S.:

—The convention would impose limitations on the production of seabed mining

operations;

—It would give substantial competition advantages to the enterprise;

—Private deep seabed miners would be required to transfer technology to the

enterprise and to developing countries; and

—Large financial burden would be imposed on industrialized countries whose

nationals are engaged in deep seabed mining.

10
In addition, .Tolentino said, the U.S. did not want a one-nation-one vote

arrangement in the assembly, another principal organ of the international

seabed authority. The U.S. he said, also wanted a guaranteed advantage in the

representation and voting procedure in the council, which is the executive

organ of the authority.

Goals: As a background, the state minister for foreign affairs, said that mining

of nonliving resources of the deep seabed area may be undertaken directly

by the enterprise or by private investors sponsored by states who helped

formulate the sea law convention.

The convention, he said, provides for certain requirements which have to be

met by private investors and their sponsoring governments. It was against

the requirements that the U.S. may have strongly objected, Tolentino said.

The ultimate objective of the convention, Tolentino pointed out, in regulating

private mining activities is to ensure that the financial and other economic

benefits derived from mining activities in the deep seabed would be shared

equally by all states.

Deep seabeds, according to Tolentino, are said to be rich in so-called polymetallic nodules, which lie at depths of 12,000 to 18,000 feet. The nodules

are composed of high-grade metal ores, primarily manganese, copper, cobalt

and nickel.

Wealth: According to Tolentino, it has been estimated that there are about

1.5 trillion tons of nodules on the Pacific seabed alone, enough to supply the

world markets for thousands of years, while land-based reserves of the metals

may be exhausted within decades.

Tolentino said there are plans to harvest the nodules by sweeping the ocean

floor with a device that operates like a giant vacuum cleaner.

CSO: 5200/4305

11
CUBA

HAVANA LOOKS AT U. S. ACTIVITIES AT SEA CONFERENCE

Havana PRISMA LATINOAMERICANO in Spanish Sep 82 pp 59-60

/Article by Regula Boorstein/

/Text/ In a new act characteristic of the overpowering and unilateral

politics which is isolating the United States in the world, Ronald Reagan s

government announced a while back that it will not sign the international

convention on the Law of the Sea.

The announcement was not a surprise; U.S. intransigence has already hindered

the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea? after 9 year of intensive work,

from adopting the agreement by consensus, as was its objective.

Nevertheless, the document did get the support of an overwhelming number of

the participating nations last 30 April when it was approved by 130 votes for,

4 against and 17 abstentions.

The Third Conference of the Sea, the first in which dozens of countries from

the so-called Third World that achieved independence since 1960, worked out

in 11 sessions a treaty that includes all parts of the oceans and establishes

rules for all its uses.

The negative attitude of the Reagan government in participating in the

agreement is one more indication that the ideologues in that administration

have prevailed over the few sane and realist elements that still exist in

Washington.

On announcing his decision last 9 July, Reagan made known the United States'

dissatisfaction with the system which establishes the agreement_as to_the

exploitation of minerals in the seabed outside its national jurisdiction

declared in the document (and now since 1970 by the General Assembly of the

United Nations) as "the common heritage of mankind."

The American administration seems convinced that the interests of their mining

companies in exploiting those riches can be guaranteed through a mmitreaty

with some partners (Great Britain, the German Federal Republic and others)

which, moreover, would assure reciprocal mining rights in the international

zone of seabeds.

12
As for other rights established in the agreement, such as those concerning

shipping, the passage through straits and others of importance for a maritime

power, Washington trusts—according to sources—in superior strength for

making valid its claims.

However, among the allies and within the American government itself.doubts

do exist as to the suitability of entering into a "minitreaty and the

possibility of enjoying all maritime rights without taking part xn the

International Agreement on the Law of the Sea.

The displeasure Reagan's decision caused was even reflected in influential

news editorials, such as the WASHINGTON POST, the NEW YORK TIMES and in the

LONDON TIMES, where the policy of shortsightedness was criticized and

condemnation of the international community was bound to be stirred up,

particularly among the underdeveloped nations.

American Journalists also expressed fear that the United States could lose

its race with its industrial competitors if they stick to the new international

systemrand organize exploitation of deep seabed minerals without that country.

Even the second-in-charge of the U.S. delegation at the Sea Conference, Leigh

Ratiner, designated by Reagan and who shares his free marketing ideas, warned

in the latest issue of FOREIGN AFFAIRS magazine that not signing the agreement

could turn out to be costly for the United States.

The expert, counsel to the American delegation for many years and under

several administrations, evidently argued for a different decision in closed

discussion.

He warns that a minitreaty signed by some countries as an alternative to then

international agreement would be questioned by the international community

and would probably be taken to the International Court of Justice, as contrary

to the law which would affect the necessary juridical security for financing

institutions making large investments that deep sea mining requires.

Ratiner believes that Japan, France, the German Federal Republic and other

nations will reach agreements among themselves, but within the spirit of the

international convention, leaving their recalcitrant ally abandoned and

without secure rights.

He says, moreover, it is a dangerously false assumption that the United States

can enjoy the rights guaranteed by the convention—the 200-mile economic zone,

jurisdiction over the continental shelf, free commercial and military shipping

in the economic zone and through international straits—without the necessity

of signing the document.

The policy that brought about the present U.S. isolation in matters of sea

rights began with Reagan's arrival in the White House, with the installation

of an administration determined to review past positions and to give a

fortress-like image in the international arena.

13
The Sea Conference, wherein the United States had participated in the task of

achieving near consensus on a draft agreement, the new government interrupted

the 1981 session with the announcement of a complete reexamination of its

positions, stating its opposition to concluding negotiations that year.

After delaying the conference for a year, the American delegation got back

into the act in 1982, but with a list of demands designed to foul up the

laboriously worked out system of sea bed exploitation.

Ratiner himself, the principal U.S. negotiator, admits that the delegation

had instructions to convert the treaty into a "frontier mining code" by which

the first company to lay out a stake would own the resources without being

subject to any regulation or control.

The "77 Group" of underdeveloped countries refused to discuss such fundamental

changes in the document already agreed upon and the efforts of a group of

minor Western countries—the Nordic countries, Canada, Australia and others—

in order to find a formula for agreement were turned down flatly by the United

States.

The intransigence shown by Washington ended up displeasing even its firmest

allies in defense of the principle of free enterprise. Great Britain and the

Federal Republic oöf Germany, which, together with France, Japan and some other

nations interested in seabed mining, saw it more convenient to seek an

advantageous arrangement within the agreement itself for the attainmenttof

an internationally recognized system of exploitation.

For the sake of winning the support of those countries and in a last ditch

effort to achieve the adoption by consensus, the conference chairman, Tommy

T. B. Koh, negotiated several changes in order to satisfy the main aspirations

of future miners, including in particular a contract guarantee for exploitation.

Even though Koh, at U.S. insistence, finally had to submit the entire text to

a vote, the inclusion of guarantees for existing consortiums can explain why

no industrialized nation, aside from the United States, gave a negative vote.

For personal reasons, Israel, Turkey and Venezuela also cast negative votes,

while countries with mining interests like Canada, France and Japan, voted

affirmatively, and Federal Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, Italy and Holland

abstained.

Except for Ronald Reagan, who wanted a document to his own liking, everyone

recognizes that the agreement, the result of 93 weeks of complex negotiations

between more than 150 nations throughout 9 years, is a collection of provisions

on a wide range of problems in which no one will win all his objectives and

each one had to make concessions, but whose final balance ought to be respected.

Its 320 articles and nine annexes show the way for U.S. conduct on the oceans

of the world through the definition of maritime zones, the establishment of

rules for marking boundaries, the debts and obligations of a juridical nature,

and the creation of a mechanism for solving controversies.

1U
Among other definitions, it establishes a 12-mile territorial sovereignty, an

exclusive economic zone of 200 miles wherein its coastal nations control the

resources, jurisdiction over resources on the continental shelf up to 350 miles,

and shipping and overflight rights in economic zones and international

straits.

Without doubt, the most novel part of the agreement and which caused the most

controversy is the one that creates an international rule for exploitation of

the deep seabeds in the international zone—wherein some have seen the first

step towards a New International Economic Order.

The activities in that zone are carried out under the control of an

international authority on marine deptsh which, moreover, will begin its own

mining operations through an enterprise created for that purpose.

At the same time, that authority will contract with private and state

enterprises for granting mining extraction rights in the zone whose resources

will be administered as a "common heritage of mankind." Those are the contracts

that will guarantee "first investor" status to existing qualified consortiums.

The participants in the agreement will contribute to financing the authority

and its enterprise in accordance with its financing quota for the United

Nations, according to a figure based principally on the gross national product

of each country.

However, many experts think it is probable that the majority of nations that

abstained in the voting will sign the agreement when the time comes in

Caracas in December of this year, because only it can assure them the benefits

and guarantee rights within the internationally accepted juridical system.

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CUBA

BRIEFS

INDIAN OCEAN CONFERENCE DELAY CONDEMNED—Cuba has stated at the United

Nations that despite the UN resolution to convert the Indian Ocean into

a peace zone, military bases in that area had been expanded and strengthened, increasing imperialism's warmongering and military presence there.

Appearing before the UN Commission for Political and Security [Affairs]

and in direct reference to the U.S. Government, Cuban delegate Pedro

Nunez condemned the delaying tactics being used to postpone the Indian

Ocean conference. [Text] [FL051535 Havana Domestic Service in Spanish

1200 GMT 5 Nov 82]

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16
MAURITIUS

INTERNATIONAL JURISTS BACK CLAIM TO DIEGO GARCIA

Port Louis ADVANCE in French 21 Sep 82 p 1

[Article: "An International Conference of Jurists Lends Its Support to the

Mauritian Government"]

[Text] A three-day international conference of jurists held in New Delhi lent

its support to the claims of the government of the island of Mauritius aimed

at recovering the island of Deigo Garcia in the Indian Ocean, currently used

by the United States äs a military base.

Approximately 100 delegates from 34 countries of Asia, Africa, Europe and the

United States participated in this conference, co-sponsored by the Indian Association of Jurists and the International Association of Men of the Law, the theme

of which was "The Indian Ocean, Peace Zone."

A conference spokesman told the press that the delegates had decided to support

the claims of the Mauritian government, considered as likely to contribute to

peace in the Indian Ocean.

Friday, in an official message to the conference, the Indian Prime Minister,

Mme Indira Gandhi, stated that, if the Indian Ocean became a real peace zone,

it would be an example for the world.

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17
MAURITIUS

DELEGATION TO ATTEND REGIONAL EEZ TALKS

Port Louis L'EXPRESS in French 23 Sep 82 p 1

[Article: "Exclusive Economic Zones: Regional Seminar in Seychelles on the

Surveillance of the 200-Mile Zone"]

[Text] In the framework of the Seychello-Mauritian Corporation, a three-person

delegation is currently in Seychelles to participate in a regional seminar

having as its theme " foonitoring control' and surveillance in the exclusive

economic zone."

The Mauritian delegation is made up of Anil Gayam and A. Venkatasamy from the

Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Natural Resources and Hussein Nakhuda from

the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development.

The Conference, which is being held under the auspices of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), began Monday, 20 September, and will end Saturday.

During Seychelles' President Albert Rene's visit to Mauritius last July, an

economic trade, technical and cultural cooperation agreement was signed between

the two countries. During this visit, the discussions between the Mauritian and

Seychelles delegations involved the problem of Saya de Malha among other things.

It had been decided to study the issue of sovereignty of the banks more closely,

and in the meantime, the two countries would take steps necessary to jointly

insure the protection and exploitation of the fishing banks making up the two

countries' exclusive economic zone. The two countries had also been concerned

with the problem of surveilling the two countries' exclusive economic zone.

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18
MAURITIUS

BRIEFS

ANIL GATAN TO MEXICO FOR LOS CONTENTION—Anil Gayan, MMM /Mauritian

Militant Movement/ deputy and specialist in LOS /Lavs of the Sea/

questions, left yesterday afternoon for Mexico, where he will attend

a conference whose objective is to study the prospects likely to get

the largest number of countries to sign the Agreement on the Laws of

the Sea. Gayan received for this purpose a personal invitation from

the Mexican government and the International Ocean Institute.

According to Gayan, the conference, which will be presided over by

the Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Castaneida, is of great

importance for the agreement is in danger and it is necessary to do

everything to save it. It has taken many years to prepare this

agreement which Gayan considers as being acceptable to everyone.

"If the agreement is not signed at Caracas next December, it will be

chaos," he declared. It would appear that certain European countries, as well as the United States, reportedly are reluctant to sign

the agreement, as it has been drawn up. The MMM deputy points out

the agreement protects small countries. In the case of the island

of Mauritius, in spite of the fact that it has an economic zone of

200 miles, it is indispensable that the agreement be accepted, for

it will give our laws international respect. On his return, Gayan

will stop in New tork to lobby with some countries to convince them

to sign the agreement. Gayan has been an active participant in all

the Laws of the Sea Conferences. He was then senior crown counsel at

the public prosecutor's office. /Text/ /Port Louis LE MAURICIEN in

French 26 Oct 82 p 4/ 8490

KOREAN CAPTAIN FINED—The captain of a Korean freighter was fined 10,000 rupees

by customs officials last Wednesday for not declaring an excess of two-tons

of fish in a load of 95 tons, intended for a local company. Under customs

regulations, the freighter officials must declare in their "manifest" the total

loads that their freighters are carrying a;t the time they enter the port, even

when they are in transit. However, during an inspection on board, customs

officials realized that an excess load of approximately two tons of fish and

shark fins had not been declared. Later on the captain appeared before the

customs collector, who sentenced him to pay a fine of 10,000 rupees. The

boat left again two days after having unloaded all its cargo. [Text] [Port

Louis THE NATION in French 17 Sep 82 p 1] 9064

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SENEGAL

REVIEW OF NATION'S INDUSTRIAL FISHING INDUSTRY

Paris LE MONDE DIPLOMATIQUE in French No 343, Oct>82.pp 25,27

[Article by Kader Diop]

[Text] Senegal has a lot going for it in its aim of becoming one

of the major fishing nations within the next few years: to begin with, it has close to 700 kilometers of coastline along the

portion of the Atlantic considered richest in fish, and secondly,

a large population of experienced fishermen. Fish may well turn

Out to be "blue gold" for Senegal, a desert Sahel country with

no oil resources.

Senegal has already set its sights on that goal, since, along

with peanuts and the tourist trade, deep-sea fishing is one of

the major sectors in Senegal's economy, providing one of the

prime sources of income for the peasants and revenues for the

state. In times of drought and poor peanut crops, like 1980,

the fisheries also become the nation's biggest earner of hard

currencies, well ahead of peanuts and phosphates, bringing in

the equivalent of 35-5 billion CFA francs in exchange for exports

of 84,000 tons of fish.

The earnings in hard currency rose in I98I (37 billion CFA), as

did quantities exported (90,000 tons). Overall production, however, declined considerably: 229,317 tons as against 359,230 in

I98O. The drop occurred because catches brought home by small

traditional fishing operations declined by 50,000 tons, doubtless

due to poor weather conditions, and because of the absence of

Polish fishing vessels following abrogation of the fishing treaty

between Poland and Senegal, which allowed the Polish vessels to

operate in Senegal's waters.

Another explanation for the drop in production is the more selective policy adopted by the government in granting fishing licenses since the establishment in I98O of a Secretariat of State in

charge of deep-sea fisheries. The effect of this new policy can

be seen in the decline in the numbers of foreign trawlers that

used to operate in Senegalese waters, and in the falling output

of Senegal's industrial fisheries (80,789 tons in I98I as against

161,£25 tons in I98O).

20
France Is Biggest Customer

Hence the output of the commercial fisheries could not make up

for the losses in small-scale fishing operations, by far the

largest sector, and the one that produces some 70 percent of the

Senegalese catch. This sector, though, is handicaped by its seasonal nature and by the extremely short range of its dugout fleet,

as well as by its inadequate storage facilities. Close to 32,000

fishermen operate in this branch of the industry, and use 5*000

motorized dugouts and 4,000 sailing boats.

Efforts are already under way to modernize the traditional fleet,

including equipping the dugouts with motors and nets, and organized marketing of the catch, provision of refrigerated storage

facilities and organization of fishing cooperatives; 13*500

fishermen are now members of 31 cooperatives.

As for the industrial fisheries, one of the besetting problems

is the venerable age of the Senegalese fleet, which consists of

129 trawlers, 4 tuna boats, and 14 sardine boats. It is dominated by foreigners, particularly in the tuna fishery, where in

1981 a nose-count showed 44 French and 19 Spanish boats. The

reason for the rusty state of the Senegalese fleet is that Senegalese fleet operators, chronically short of money, tend to buy

second-hand boats that have seen better days.

The consequence of this situation is that maintenance of these

boats, which is costly, cuts sharply into the profits of the fleet

operator. Nevertheless, the catch of the Senegalese fleet, 43,600

tons, accounts for more than half the total output of the industrial fisheries.

This production, destined to supply local seafood processing ,...

plants (31 freezing plants, 3 canneries, and 3 fish- meal factories), is oriented primarily toward the export market. In 1981,

4,617 tons of shellfish, 2,666 tons of mollusks, 60,193 tons of

fish, 15,728 tons of canned fish, 7*500 tons of fish-meal, fish

oil, and processed fish were exported. Senegal's biggest customers are France (23*863 tons, including 12,693 tons of canned tuna),

Ivory Coast (44*360 tons), and Japan (3*353 tons).

The importance of the industrial fishery in Senegal's foreign

trade, and also as a source of jobs, justifies the measures the

government has taken to encourage it. One move was establishment of a Maritime Credit institution designed to breathe new life

into the sector by helping Senegalese businesses to replace their

aging fleets and build processing and marketing infrastructures

for fishery products. Maritime Credit, which has begun operations, last April approved six projects (four for fleet expansion

or upgrading and two for processing plants) which will require a

total of 1.450 billion CFA francs.

21
Senegal, which has claimed boundaries of 150 nautical miles for

its territorial waters and 200 nautical miles as its exclusive

zone, has altered its policy for granting licences, as much in

order to get more profit from exploitation of its fishing resources as to protect and encourage Senegalese fishermen.

As of now, fishing licences have been abolished for foreigners,

and will be distributed, following signed agreements, only to

countries or groups of countries. Agreements of this kind are

in effect with the EEC, Spain, and Ivory Coast, and they stipulate that licences shall be issued for taking specific types of

fish, arid that the licence fee will depend on the capacity of the

ships involved and may be altered on the basis of the proportion

of the catch put ashore in Senegal. Validity of fishing licences, which earned Senegal nearly 5 billion CFA francs in foreign

currency in 1981, runs for 2 years as compared with a 10-year

term for earlier agreements.

The industrial fishery could also see its output increase markedly, and could also catch up with the small-scale fishery, with

completion of a joint Senegal-Denmark project — one of the biggest of its kind in the world — since it calls for production

of 100,000 tons of fish and seafood . It is an integrated project (thus including production, marketing, processing, and preservation of the catch). The project, already in the experimental

stages, will take 9 to 10 billion CFA francs in financing, already

under negotiation with Denmark, and the first results are promising (228 million CFA francs in receipts in 3 months); it is quite

likely that Project Senegal-Seafood will shortly be moving into

the completion stages.

The company will be capitalized at 1 billion CFA francs and 51

percent of its shares will be held by Senegalese fleet operators,

according to governmental sources. The Senegal-Seafood project

will be implemented in four phases, each one with its own production target of 25,000 tons of seafood products. There are

plans to market the catch in Africa (80 percent), Europe, and

the United States (20 percent), as well as to create 1,000 new

jobs and to build an unloading dock and a processing plant at

dockside.

Senegal is also looking for inter-African cooperation with a view

to coordinating fishery laws so as to protect the fishing grounds

in the Central-West Atlantic, the richest in the world, and to

prevent overfishing of the African resources.

For Senegal, as for other countries in the area, coastal surveillance still poses problems. It is hard for African countries,

already coping with numerous financial difficulties, to protect

the resources in their territorial waters against the encroachments of foreign ships.

22
Even though the production of Senegal's deep-sea fisheries has

shown a tendency to level off over the past several years, it

is nevertheless certain that this sector — if all hoped-for

investments materialize — will, over the next 5 years, grow

into the biggest one in the entire Senegalese economy. It could

then go on to challenge Nigeria for first place among African

producers.

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23
SOUTH AFRICA

APPEAL TO BE MADE FOR STRICTER FISHING CONTROL

MB241325 Johannesburg Domestic Service in English 1115 GMT 24 Nov 82

[Text] South Africa is to appeal for stricter control over fishing along

the west coast at next week's meeting of the International Commission for

the Southeast Atlantic Fisheries to be held in the Canary Islands. Announcing this in Windhoek, the leader of the South African delegation, Mr (Piet

Kruger), said South Africa would request an extension of the closed fishing

zone from 24 to 36 km. The commission would also be requested to introduce

an inspection service. Mr (Kruger) said South Africa felt that control

measures should be based on a ratio between the quota and capacity of trawlers.

Mr (Kruger), who is secretary of economic affairs in south-west Africa,^said

the quota restrictions applicable to member countries of the International

Commission also applied to the south-west African territorial waters. Problems were encountered in enforcing the restrictions because the territory

was not yet independent. South-west Africa's fishing resources were being

abused by trawlers from Romania, Bulgaria and Poland. Mr (Kruger) said he

had proof that trawlers from these east European countries were catching

double their allotted quotas of hake, (masbanker) and mackerel.

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2U
USSR

REAGAN REPUDIATION OF LAW OF SEA CONVENTION CRITICIZED

Moscow PRAVDA in Russian 15 Jul 82 p 5

[Article by Vsevolod Ovchinnikov: "From Imperial Positions"]

[Text] President Reagan the other day announced the refusal of his administration

to sign the new international convention on the law of the sea, which was passed on

30 April by a conference of the United Nations. (It will be opened for signing in

December of this year, and the Soviet Union will be one of the first states which

will sign this important document.) As Reagan himself reminded, the United States

participated for many years in the drafting of this convention along with representatives of more than 150 countries. But, as the President asserted, now it has

suddenly turned out that the section of the convention, which is devoted to the

development of the resources of the sea bed, ostensibly "is not in line with the

goals of the United States."

The new convention is a code of international law principles and norms of the use

of the sea expanses and the development of the resources of the world ocean. It

was worked out as a result of many years of efforts and mutual concessions of all

the parties to the negotiations and is a balanced "package" of compromise understandings on all the closely interconnected questions of the law of the sea. This

painstaking work was carried out with the participation of the three preceding

American administrations. And only the fourth, current administration repudiated

the understandings which had been reached with its predecessors, and demanded that

the already agreed on text be revised.

As is evident, it does not please the current master of the White House that the

convention proclaims as its main goal the use of the wealth of the world ocean in

the interests of all mankind; that it envisages steps against the monopolization

of the resources of the sea bed and the uncontrolled access of private companies

to their mining; finally, that the decision-making procedure does not hold out to

the United States the dominant role to which it has become accustomed in international monetary and financial organs.

The refusal to sign the new convention on the law of the sea in many ways is reminiscent of the fate of the SALT-2 Treaty. In both instances the long years of

searching for a mutually acceptable, balanced compromise were one-sidedly crossed

out. In both instances the imperial ways and the attempts to achieve a dominant

position and to seize one-sided advantages at the expense of the interests of

others are clearly evident. In both instances the stand of the current U.S.

25
administration and its repudication of the previously reached understandings are at

variance with the principle of the conscientious observance of the assumed obligations and the principle of legal continuity in interstate relations. The question arises: Is not the refusal of Washington to sign the convention on the law of the sea

a maneuver for the purpose of freeing its hands for the arbitrary seizure of the

sea expanses and the resources of the world ocean, which the current administration regards as another "sphere of the vital interests of the United States"?

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