018159

JPRS 82268

18 November 1982

Worldwide Report

LAW OF THE SEA

No. 213

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WORLDWIDE REPORT

LAW OF THE SEA

No. 213

CONTENTS

JPRS 82268

18 November 1982

AUSTRALIA

Briefs

ASIA

Soviet Cocos Islands Incident

Fishing Pact With Thailand

Fishing Agreement With Japan

PHILIPPINES

Sea Safety Pact Signed With Japan

(BULLETIN TODAY, 30 Oct 82)

Japanese Boat Held for Illegal Fishing

(Wilma Tamzon; BULLETIN TODAY, 1 Nov 82)

1

1

2

LATIN AMERICA

ARGENTINA

Briefs

Fish Catch Rises

BERMUDA

Marine Environment Study Completed, Offers Proposals

(ROYAL GAZETTE, 8 Oct 82)

COLOMBIA

LOS Diplomat on Relations With Venezuela

(EL TIEMPO, 4 Oct 82)

- a - [III - WW - 136]
JAMAICA

Shearer Calls for Ratification of Law of the Sea

(DAILY GLEANER, 8 Oct 82). 10

Jamaica Reports Preparations for ISA Officers

(CANA, 30 Oct 82) 12

WEST EUROPE

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Spanish Fishermen Protest French Policy in Bay of Biscay

(ignacio Alonso; EL PAIS, 16 Oct 82) .. 13

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

Commentator Recommends Government Not Sign LOS Treaty

(Klaus Broichhausen; FRANKFURTHER ALLGEMEINE, 11 Sep 82) ... 15

- b
AUSTRALIA

BRIEFS

SOVIET COCOS ISLANDS INCIDENT—THE Federal Government has lodged a protest

with the Soviet embassy in Canberra over the behavior of the captain of a

Russian research vessel. The vessel, Antaris, called at the Cocos Islands,

an Australian-administered group of 27 atolls in the central Indian Ocean,

late last month. The captain told local officials the Antaris had engine

trouble and he wanted to carry out repairs. The officials directed the captain repeatedly to a safe anchorage on South Keeling Island. The captain

refused and moored his ship on North Keeling Island. Both islands are part

of the Cocos group. A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs in

Canberra said yesterday the Government was concerned over the captain's defiant action and the incident had been taken up with the Soviet embassy. The

Minister for Home Affairs and the Environment, Mr McVeigh, confirmed last week

that Cabinet had discussed sightings of Soviet submarines in the area. The

Cocos Islands, which will become an overseas territory of Australia next year

after a UN supervised act of self determination for the 320 Cocos Malays, have

great strategic significance fot the Western alliance. The airstrip on West

Island is used by the RAAF as a staging base for reconnaissance flights in the

central Indian Ocean and by the US Air Force staging through to Diego Garcia.

[Canberra THE AUSTRALIAN in English 22 Sep 82 p 3]

FISHING PACT WITH THAILAND—BANGKOK, Wednesday—Captains of Thai fishing

trawlers and their crews are being instructed in international law and codes

of seagoing behaviour before they begin fishing in Australian waters. The

Royal Thai Navy is conducting the courses, the managing director of a ThaiAustralian fishing company, Mr Graeme Mathieson, said today. He said his company, Coldstream International Corporation Ltd, hoped to begin trawling in the

Arafura Sea in the next few weeks. Authorities in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory had approved, and authorisation from Canberra was expected any day now. Mr Mathieson said his agreement with the Australian authorities was a normal one for this type of operation, giving his

fleet an annual catch quota worth perhaps nearly $20 million. All the catch

would be landed in Australia and sold there. Australian officials indicated

earlier that the project envisaged landing only a small proportion of the

catch, with the bulk being shipped directly to a number of Asian countries

for processing. Mr Mathieson said all the catch would be sold in Darwin,

where there was adequate cold storage. Some would be exported, but all would

go out as an Australian export. There were plans later for a cannery in Darwin, Ultimately his company, which was 51 per cent Thai and the remainder

mainly Australian, would invest about $4 million in the project. Initially 30

Thai trawlers flying both the Thai and Australian flags would be fishing.

[Neil Kelly] [Sydney THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD in English 23 Sep 82 p 10]

CSO: 5200/7506
FISHING AGREEMENT WITH JAPAN—Australia and Japan have reached agreement on

longline tuna fishing in Australian waters for another 12 months. Minister

for Primary Industry Nixon says the agreement is still subject to formal

approval but is expected to come into effect on 1 November. Nixon says under

the new agreement, Japan has confirmed that Australian cod tuna can be sold

in the Japanese market. He says that to avoid problems with Australian fishermen, an area off the north coast of New South Wales has been closed to

Japanese boats. The minister said in return for access to areas in the

Australian fishing zone, the Japanese had agreed to share any international

control restrictions on tuna catchers and to take account of recent expansion

of the Australian industry. [Text] [BK141333 Melbourne Overseas Service in

English 0830 GMT 13 Oct 82]

CSO: 5200/4302
PHILIPPINES

SEA SAFETY PACT SIGNED WITH JAPAN

Manila BULLETIN TODAY in English 30 Oct 82 p 23

[Text]

i The safety of shipping lanes transiting

between the -Philippines and Japan was

further enhanced this

week with the conclusion of'the first bilateral conference between

the Philippine Coast

Gu a rd an d the

Japanese Maritime

Safety Agency.

With Minister

Nagao Hyodo and a

representative from

the local Ministry of

Foreign Affairs as witnesses, top officers of

the two coast guard units signed an agreement enumerating the

areas where they intend to take joint or

complementary actions.

Vice Admiral Shinji

Nakajima and Commodore Brillante C.

Ochoco called their

agreement "guidelines

for cooperative efforts

between the Philippine

Coast Guard and the

Japanese Maritime

Safety Agency."

The pact specifically

mentions maritime

safety, search and- rescue, marine environmental protection, aids

to navigation, training, exercises, and international (SOLAS)

conventions as their

areas of mutual concern, i.

Like the previous

PCG-US Coast Guard

agreement, the present

pact also provided for

an annual review of

their actions "to promote harmonious relations between the two

agencies, facilitate

solutions to common

problems, and contribute to professional development."

CSO: 5200/4303
PHILIPPINES

JAPANESE BOAT HELD FOR ILLEGAL FISHING

Manila BULLETIN TODAY in English 1 Nov 82 pp 1, 9

[Article by Wilma Yamzonl

[Text!

A Japanese fishing boat

was apprehended the

other day by the Philippine Coast Guard and

Philippine Navy several

miles west of Balabac,

Palawan, for illegal entry

and fishing, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)

reported.

The PCG station in

Palawan said the operation group was on a patrol

aboard BRP Sultan

Kudarat Patrol Ship 22

when they spotted the

Japanese ship. They

found in its hold six tons

of fish.

In a report to PCG commandant Brillante C.

Ochoco, Capt; Gil

Mariano, PCG 4th district

commander, said the vessel's master alleged he

obtained a fishing permit

from the Palau Maritime

Authority signed by its

deputy director, Marhence Madranchar.

The vessel was deep in

the Philippine waters and

the permit was good only

in the jurisdiction of

Palau islands, Western

Carolines, in the Pacific,

not in the China Sea.

Kogi Kobune, 1st

secretary of the Japanese

embassy in the Philippines, enplaned for Puerto

Princesa city where the

vessel and its crew are

being held.

Mariano identified the

officers and crew as Tetsuyuky Matluda, master;

Mario Shiroma, engineer;

Masaru Oshiro,

Takeyoshe Nakasone,

Choei Fukuyuma, and

Hideo Kabashigawa.

Ochoco said this is the

first apprehension of a

Japanese vessel since last

year. Only last week, an

agreement between the

Philippine and Japan

Coast Guard was signed

for cooperation in rescue

and safety operations and

enforcement of maritime

laws. (Wilma Yamzon)

CSÖ: 5200/4303
ARGENTINA

BRIEFS

FISH CATCH RISES—The output of Argentina's fishing industry rose 60 percent

during the first half of this year as compared to the same period of 1981,

the maritime interests secretariat announced yesterday. The total catch during

the first six months of this year was 223,000 tons, and the official report

stresses that the production increased despite "operational difficulties" in

the sector as a result of the south Atlantic conflict with Britain. [Text]

[PY122353 Buenos Aires BUENOS AIRES HERALD in English 12 Oct 82 [page not given]

PY]

CSO: 5200/2001
MARINE ENVIRONMENT STUDY COMPLETED, OFFERS PROPOSALS

Hamilton ROYAL GAZETTE in English 8 Oct 82 p 3

[Text]

BERMUDA

A five-year study into Bermuda's

inshore waters has concluded that

the .Island's marine environment

faces no immediate threat —

provided the "delicate, balance"

between Man and ocean is

preserved.

The report — the product of a Gov-"

ernment -sponsored research team

from the Bermuda Biological Station

aided by 38 scientists and eight universities — was presented by ßr. the

Hon. John Stubbs, Minister of

Agriculture and Fisheries at a press

conference held yesterday.

He commented: "We cannot be

complacent about our marine environment but we can be cautiously "optimistic." [' . •

The five-vear research programme

cost between $:55O,0O0-400,0O0. Its report points out from the outset:'"After

five years of intensive studies no clear

evidence of significant sewage pollution has been found in the inshore

waters."

But. it continues: "At present, the

marine environment copes adequately

with sewage inputs. However, the Bermuda marine ecosystem is delicately

balanced and depends on many

equilibria." " ' ;

"An increased sewage input, or even

continuation of the present input,

may eventually lead to an unbalanced ^

system, with serious consquences for

the local marine environment."

The team has drawn up a series of

recommendations including steps-to

control and eventually reduce sewage

input as well as other water quality

measurements and checks on the presence of items such as pesticides.

Other suggestions include:

•' Short-term, intensive studies of human impact on Hamilton Harbour. -

• Yearly surveillance, by helicopter

and diving, of Cladophora mats (the

prolific green algae that caused^ concern among environmental groups

after its growth increased around Harrington Sound).

• Studies of phosiphorus content de:

rived from detergents. V

' • Bi-annual investigations of the

population of the calico clam.

One of the general recommendations in what is otherwise a very

technical report is the development of

of a sensible solution ' to problems
caused bv the airport dump and also a

feasibility study on the possibility ot

replacing cesspits with small sewage

treatment units. ' \

I)r Stubbs, accompanied by

Agriculture and Fisheries Director Dr.

Icfwal Hughes, said Government was

weighing up the various suggestions.

He pointed out that several ot the

recommendations,- including the various studies, were already on line.

• Mr. Timothy •Jickells, an. organic

• chemist who helped draw up the report, also.said that the detergent issue

had been eased already by the use of

"softer" detergents which had helped

reduce phosphorus build-up.

The study also pinpoints why Hamilton Harbour appears green at times.

The colour change stems from seasonal "phytoplankton 'blooms that seem to

favour the harbour:

The report calls för ä coral reef

studv using the site where the vessel

Mari Boeing grounded. Blasting there

in 1979 to make a clear tow path for

-the hull damaged a nearby reef and

has presented scientists with an "invaluable". Opportunity to see how

' damaged Bermuda reefs re-establish

themselves.

CSO: 5200/7507
COLOMBIA

LOS DIPLOMAT ON RELATIONS WITH VENEZUELA

Bogota EL TIEMPO in Spanish 4 Oct 82 p 14-B

[Text] The small Los Monjes islands make neither a continental shelf nor an exclusive economic zone because the new international law establishes it that way,

said the chief of the Colombian delegation to the UN Conference on the Sea,

Hector Charry Samper.

In explaining the reaches of the UN Convention of the Sea, Charry said that it

is the first time that maritime law, which previously was dictated by the great

powers, is going to be determined by the UN members.

In this way, he emphasized, the countries of Latin America have made an important contribution to this new law of the sea, or international law: they were

the first to establish the 200-mile limit as a national economic zone, one of

the fundamental clauses in the convention.

In statements on the program, "Five Reporters and the Personality of the Week"

from Caracol, the Colombian diplomat commented that the other consequence of the

new agreement is that new maritime dimensions have appeared: no longer is this

just a medium for navigation with fishing resources, but due to techno-scientific

advances, the possibility of marine mining is coming into play with multinational

enterprises which are now commercially exploiting those resources.

Moreover, the bases and criteria have been set for delimiting marine and submarine areas in all cases concerning states with adjacent or opposing shorelines,

and a special court is being established, the International Court of the Sea,

which is going to replace the International Court of Justice in these matters

and which is going to take up delimitation problems and litigation.

Asked if the new agreement would restrict the law concerning keys in all seas

and if, in the case of Venezuela with the Los Monjes, would it change all the

ground rules in relation to the differences with Colombia, Charry Samper said:

"The Convention of the Sea establishes criteria for the delimitation of the

different marine spaces. In the first place, coastal spaces have an exclusive

economic zone up to 200 miles and beyond those 200 the zone is referred to as

'common heritage of mankind.' This means there will be no exploitation of the

resources of the sea outside that authority without permission of the court

which is being set up in Jamaica for exploitation of polymetallic moduli and
the wealth of the sea. But, it also means delimiting between states with

adjacent or opposing coasts. It is entirely a natural phenomenon, not a

desire or a claim by a neighbor. According to the convention, it is an

obligation of states to delimit their areas."

The Colombian ambassador insisted that delimitation is an obligation, because

if the countries with adjacent or opposing coasts do not do it, the authority

will not be able to come in to make use of the common heritage of mankind for

the benefit of the people.

He reaffirmed that the continental shelf is an important matter which establishes

a system of delimitation. "Territorial waters extend tq 12 miles and, in the

case of delimitation between states with adjacent or opposing coastlines, the

average line is applied—a thesis to which Colombia has been traditionally

linked."

—Whomsoever does not subscribe to the new convention is not obliged to fulfill

it. Then, what is going to happen with Venezuela?

"It is an internal decision about which I do not express an opinion and which I

deeply respect. International law has established bases which are fundamental

and which obligates them oftimes, even when states do not sign conventions. An

international law does exist which cannot be ignored by anyone."

—Whom does the convention most favor, Colombia or Venezuela?

"It seems to me that here are the facts. This is a convention with some precise rules that express the will of the international community. Colombia has

already acknowledged it, that which leans towards constitutional processes and

we put ourselves in the hands of international law."

—Does the Convention of the Sea establish a certain time limit for delimiting

areas?

"No. No time limit is fixed, but the convention does establish some rules about

what should be done when there is a controversy if no agreement has been reached.

It states that when an agreement has not been reached neither of the two parties

can do anything that would jeopardize the final negotiation, or that could mean

unilateral exploitation of the resources of the area in question."

Finally, Hector Charry characterized himself as a 'thoughtful supporter" of Colombia's entry into the Movement of the Non-Alined Countries and he said that the

government of President Belisario Betancur may have opened the door for this

entry which, he said, will permit strengthening our negotiating power to defend

our interests.

9908

CSO: 5200/2000
JAMAICA

SHEARER CALLS FOR RATIFICATION OF LAW OF THE SEA

FL111930 Kingston DAILY GLEANER in English 8 Oct 82 pp 1, 20

[Excerpts] Foreign Minister the Rt. Hon Hugh Shearer yesterday called for

early ratification by member states of the Law of the Sea Convention as he

delivered Jamaica's major policy address before the United Nations General

Assembly in New York.

He also expressed the hope that no country or group of countries would engage in action or adopt measures that would undermine the convention.

The deputy prime minister said that Jamaica has a great sense of pride at

having been selected as the site of the international seabed authority, the

preparatory commission and the ceremony for the signing of the convention.

He said that it is essential that, consistent with the programme and objectives of the preparatory commission, adequate provision be made for its

effective functioning.

Mr Shearer said: "We exhort all states to sign and ratify the convention as

quickly as possible, so that it will enter into force in the shortest possible time. An early entry into force of the convention can only operate to

the advantage of all countries, developed and developing, particularly where

it deals with the regime for the exploration and exploitation of the deep

seabed.

"We would not wish anyone to be left in doubt as to our view that activities

in the international seabed area can only take place lawfully within the

framework established by the convention. We hope that no country or group of

countries will engage in action or adopt measures whose effect will be to

undermine the convention." [passage omitted]

He said that Jamaica was disappointed that the recent second special session

of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament failed to achieve any significant results, particularly regarding a comprehensive programme of disarmament .

Turning to economic issues, Mr Shearer said that Jamaica's analysis of the

global economy has highlighted the need for immediate action. If the world

is to avert the collapse of the international system.

10
"We are all agreed on the necessity to achieve a rate of economic growth consistent with the aspirations of our peoples and the requirements for achieving

international peace and security," he said.

"In seeking to fulfill these objectives, we must make a special appeal to the

developed countries to desist from the application of protectionist trade

policies," he said.

Mr Shearer said that these policies, based on the experience of the 1930's,

have shown that measures to protect sectors in economies that have lost their

competitive edge in the international market place are self-defeating:

"They have only to contract international purchasing power and generate unemployment in their own economies as well as in the economies of the developing world that provide markets for their exports."

Mr Shearer said that Jamaica is firm in the view that it is the market-place

and the work-place of the developing world which holds the best solution for

reflation without inflation:

"The unsatisfied and growing demands of the consumer market; the unsatisfied

and growing capabilities of the work force of a growing number of developing

countries need only the catalyst of expanded credit resources to fuel an

expansion of trade through exported growth."

He said that Jamaica commended for the consideration of the General Assembly

the essential features of Prime Minister Edward Seaga's presentation on the

subject at the recent joint meeting of the World Bank and the International

Monetary Fund in Toronto, Canada.

Mr Shearer said that the proposed global round of negotiations, which has

been under consideration for the past three years, must now be recognized as

offering the best prospect of bringing about the changes required to establish an economic system which can fulfill "the aspirations of our time."

CSO: 5200/2002

11
JAMAICA

JAMAICA REPORTS PREPARATIONS FOR ISA OFFICES

Bridgetown CANA in English 2044 GMT 30 Oct 82

[Text] Kingston, Jamaica, 30 Oct (CANA)—Jamaica's preparations to host

the headquarters of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) as well as the

signing in early December of the Law of Sea Convention, have received full

approval from a United Nations review mission that visited the island recently, a statement from the Foreign Ministry here has said.

The island was earlier this year selected as the site for the ISA headquarters, the body that will over see the implementation of the convention,

and a temporary headquarters is being built on the Kingston waterfront.

The building is expected to be completely ready in time for the first meeting of the ISA Preparatory Commission next March.

Additionally, Jamaica was recently named the venue for the signing of the

treaty after Venezuela withdrew.

The Foreign Ministry said that a seven-member mission from the United Nations

Conference on the Law of the SEA (UNCLOS) was here between 18 and 23 October,

visiting the temporary headquarters building and holding talks with government officials and agencies which are responsible for its completion on time

and the smooth functioning of the facility.

The mission also reviewed planning for the signing session of the Law of the

Sea Convention in the northwestern city of Montego Bay, and on both counts

were satisfied, the Foreign Ministry said.

CSO: 5200/2000

12
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

SPANISH FISHERMEN PROTEST FRENCH POLICY IN BAY OF BISCAY

Madrid EL PAIS in Spanish 16 Oct 82 p 42

[Article by Ignacio Alonso]

[Text] Shipowners of Spanish fishing boats accuse the French minister of

Maritime Affairs Louis Le Pensec, of demagogic practices, and they make the

accusation that the French fishing policy is directed toward delaying the

admission of Spain into the EEC and reducing the strength of our fleet in

European waters, which would make easier the massive penetration of Gallic

products into the peninsular market

The French minister of Maritime Affairs, Louis Le Pensec, threatened at the

beginning of the month in Luxemburg to rej ect any fishing agreement between

Spain and the EEC for 1983 if guarantees were not obtained that the Spanish

vessels will respect community regulations and will give up unauthorized

fishing in the Bay of Biscay.

The Spanish reply, through the Spanish Federation of Shipowners of Fishing

Boats and the Association of Shipowners of Pasajes, was not long in coming.

The Spanish federation accuses Le Pensec of wanting to hide with his words

the French intention of reducing the strength of the Spanish fleet to the

advantage of his own fleet, and to introduce their produce easily in our market

which is eager for marine products. The shipowners of Pasajes are protesting

because of the effort made to adapt their fleet to the licenses that the

EEC is offering and because of the lack of respect toward their wishes. "We

believe," they say in a letter remitted to Louis Le Pensec, "that the measure

announced by the French Government does not value the considerable effort

made by the shipowning sector of this port of Pasajes, and we hope that they

will consider our situation."

The Federation of Shipowners goes further, and not only does it directly

reject the accusation that the Spanish vessels do not' respect community

regulations, but it also transfers the accusation of unauthorized fishing

to the French fleet itself. The shipowners believe that the opportunities

for breaking the EEC's fishing regulations are minimal, and they describe

in detail that a Spanish vessel, in the case of transgressing the EEC's rules,

is punished twice, because first a fine is imposed on it and afterwards the

community itself withdraws its fishing license from it.

13
On the list of community contradictions, the shipowners assert that the

Spanish fishing vessel "Martimuno Segundo" had its right to a community

license suspended for 12 months on the claim that it was seen and photographed fishing in community waters last 20 February. And on that date the

boat was moored in the port of Pasajes.

Behind the statements of the French minister, the shipowners understand

that there is hidden the intention to limit, at the next negotiation of the

fishing agreements between Spain and the EEC (which begins next month), the

number of boulter vessels, the skill of selective fishing toward which many

Spanish trawlers evolved in recent years. The aim in all cases is the same:

to increase the power of the French fleet and to easily introduce fish in

the Spanish market. At the present time, the number of community licenses

has reached 128.

Confrontations in Galicia

Directors of the Association of Shipowners of the Galician trawler fleet

were studying at the last minute on Wednesday night the possibility of

revoking the announced mooring of the 160 vessels that are operating with

this type of fishing in Galicia, after participating in a meeting called by

the Fishing Council of Xunta, which was also attended by representatives of

the boulter method fleet. Trawler and boulter fishermen maintain a confrontational attitude about the opportuneness of a ministerial order of last

February, by which the prohibition on boulter fishing on the Galician continental platform, which is only 17 miles wide, was extended to depths less than

200 meters, reports ANXEL VENCE.

Moreover, the Catalonian fishermen will respect the agreements signed with

the Basques on tuna fishing, as has been announced by the fishing director

of the Basque government, Miguel Muruaga, regarding the conflict that has

arisen because of the presence of the Basque fleet in Mediterranean waters.

The above mentioned agreement establishes that the. Basque fleet will engage

in tuna fishing in those waters under the standards and rules for fishing

of those associations. This agreement was contested by some associations in

the Mediterranean, which provoked the government fishing authorities into

sending telegrams to the parties in conflict, ordering them to allow the

Basque fleet to fish provided that it complies with the agreement in all its

conditions.

The Spanish fishing boats "Maflor","Mariscos Rodriguez 1" and "Virgen de la

Palma", seized last week by Portuguese patrol motor launches, returned to

Isla Cristina after paying 170,000 pesetas for each boat as a fine for

fishing in waters too close to the coast of Portugal.

The six Spanish fishing boats seized by Morocco last week are presently

in the military zone of the port of Casablanca.

9545

CSO: 5200/2503

14
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

COMMENTATOR RECOMMENDS GOVERNMENT NOT SIGN LOS TREATY

Frankfurt/Main FRANKFURTHER ALLGEMEINE in German 11 Sep 82 p 13

[Article by Klaus Broichhausen: "The Dispute Over the Riches of the Sea"]

[Text] The International Law of the Sea Conference, a mammoth undertaking of 160 countries, was the most expensive

and longest conference of the United Nations. After its

close it is completely unclear what will become of the new

Law of the Sea Convention which the conference adopted in

the spring and which will be presented for formal signing

after the end of the year. No one knows what the paper,

described as having 320 articles, 9 annexes and 5 resolutions,

is worth as the result of 9 years of conferences. President

Reagan has already pushed it aside as unusable. The Federal

Government still does not know what to decide. Developing

countries increasingly notice that the convention, forced

through with a Third World majority, was a wild goose

chase for them, for only a few developing countries can

derive any benefits from it.

If so many questions are touched upon in a conference, it cannot be only a

matter for experts on the law of the sea. The new convention concerns everyone. In particular it does not concentrate, like the regime currently in

force, on pure law of the sea matters, but spills over into a comprehensive regime of the law and exploitation of the seas. This significance of the marathon conference was for years not perceived, either by the public at large or

by the political leadership in Bonn. In the interior of Germany far too little

attention was paid to how important it is for the Federal Republic, as an

industrial state which depends on foreign trade and does not have enough of its

own raw materials and energy, to be able economically to exploit the seas responsibly but with as much freedom as possible.

The exploitation of the sea is to be regulated anew from the legal, political,

economic, ecological and strategic standpoints through the supplementary law

of the Law of the Sea Convention. It involves the redistribution of the exploitation rights to 70 percent of the earth's surface. With all its reserves

of food, energy, and raw materials, the sea is again divided among the community of states. The title "Law of the Sea Convention" does not do justice to

this global precedent. It is really much more of a world economic convention

for the seas. In addition to economic and transportation policy, the raw

materials and technology policies are especially covered, along with security

15
and foreign policy. Since security interests are as much at stake as the

economic interests of the Federal Republic, the Federal Government since the

beginning of the conference.has had to be particularly alert with the partners

in the alliance lest the naval radius of defense be cut by the convention.

One question after another has been raised since the work was done in expert

circles and in the conference hall to develop the narrowly defined law of the

sea into a comprehensive legal system for navigation, fishing, oceanography,

environmental protection, and for the deep seabed mining due to begin in the

middle of the 1990's. Does the German merchant fleet, as an important service

branch of a strongly export-oriented and import-dependent country, have enough

space and loading possibilities in international transportation? Will we also

in the future be supplied with fish at a more or less reasonable price? In

the future will all states be able jointly to prevent the pollution of the

sea? Can the successful German tradition of oceanographic research be continued? Will it be possible for the Federal Republic, poor in raw materials, to

utilize the advanced position it has achieved in marine technology to improve

its supply of industrially important nonferrous metals from the deposits at

the bottom of the sea? Or is an economically feasible production of these raw

materials, which lie in potato-sized manganese nodules on the sea bottom, to

be denied to it?

To a part of these questions the text of the convention gives more or less

satisfactory answers. This affects international navigation, which,.despite

a host of possibilities of coastal states to interfere, has been provided adequate freedom of movement. The new law of the sea would grant free navigation

even to the navy in all waters outside the zone of sovereignty, which is

extended from 3 to 12 nautical miles. Corresponding to the right of passage

for merchant and naval navigation, air traffic is to be given unobstructed

overflight. For the more than 100 straits in the world, complicated regulations have been detailed which indubitably confer on ships and cargoes of all

sorts the right of transit in so-called transit straits. The air space above

such straits may be overflown by both civilian and military aircraft.

Along with these regulations in the general law of the sea, which satisfy the

requirements of the Federal Republic by and large, that part of the convention

devoted to marine environmental protection can also be judged positively.

Ships are resolutely prevented from discharging harmful materials and pollutants into the sea. Environmental violators on the ocean are to be heavily

fined. The control and prevention methods provided for the protection of the

sea are, as a whole, without being diverted into perfectionism, so broad that

they should be more effective than the environmental protection on land across

frontiers. Another advance in the law of the sea is the fact that in cases of

dispute the international arbitration and legal settlement of disputes will

gain more binding authority through the new institution of a court of the law

of the sea.

The Federal Republic Gets Only a Sliver

For the Federal Republic these are however the only satisfactory results of

the Law of the Sea Conference. The Federal Republic experienced its first

great disappointment already in the early jstage of jthe conference in the

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redivision of the seas; for it gets only a sliver of the fish stocks and of

the enormous reserves of oil and gas in the sea. The fishing grounds lie 80

percent and the oil deposits 90 percent within the 200-mile zone, over which

only the coastal states have the power of disposal. Their jurisdiction is

extended even beyond the so-called economic zone and onto the continental

shelf, and "mountain ranges" in the middle of the oceans. The sphere of influence of the coastal states is to end finally at a maximum of 350 nautical

miles.

It now depends on the good will of the haves whether German high seas fisheries can go out fishing and maintain the fish supply under economic conditions. Even German oceanography—the prerequisite for intelligent exploitation of the sea—is possible in the economic zones only if the coastal states

agree. German interests are therefore demonstrably the loser in the embittered distribution battle in the Law of the Sea Conference. Even if the interests of the Federal Republic in this redistribution conference had been more

stubbornly and imaginatively defended, the convention would not have looked

much more favorable under this heading. As a country with a short coastline

the Federal Republic, like other states in a disadvantageous geographic

position, could not have been awarded any broad economic zone. The so-called

long coastline states and countries with islands on the other hand are by

nature the winners of the law of the sea conference. France is an example.

Favored by its island colonial possessions, it is awarded 30 times as much

sea space. A small group of 10 states with a long coastline has a legal grip

on more than 50 percent of all economic zones. "The states with long coastlines," complains the Schleswig-Holstein economics minister Juergen Westphal,

"are intolerably favored with their own sea space and their own reserves at

the expense of the remaining states, while the other countries over the long

run are cut off from the blessings of the sea."

Since the coastal states can claim so much space from their shores, the freedom of the seas, as Hugo Grotius, one of the ancestors of the law of the sea

in the 17th Century appreciated, is lost by a nautical mile. When the Law of

the Sea Conference distributed sovereignty and exploitation rights too generously to the coastal states, it departed far from its original course, which

was wrapped up in the slogan: The sea is the common inheritance of mankind;

it belongs to all peoples. Instead it has now been nationalized even beyond

the traditional three-mile sovereignty zone. On the ocean the greatest land

grab in world history is taking place.

The convention of course is only sanctioning a development which had long been

under way. One country after another began to confiscate sea space off its

coast and place it under its national jurisdiction. There was nothing left

for the Law of the Sea Conference to do but confirm accomplished facts and

legally assign to the coastal states what they had already taken for themselves: the economically most valuable and most easily accessible resources

of the sea. The new law of the sea can only prevent coastal states from continuing their confiscations of sea space. An amended convention at least

justifies the hope, as Federal Foreign Minister Genscher says, that the anarchy which has prevailed for years on world seas will stop. Indisputably

legal security must be restored and new conflicts headed off.

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On the other hand, buried in the text of the convention itself there is much

fuel for conflict, which is already being ignited before the results of the

conference have even received the force of law. Thus there is a basis for war

over the Falkland Islands in the fact that Great Britain and Argentina both

want to keep the oil and gas-bearing economic zone around the miserable island.

The exploitation rights falling to the islands reach as far as the mineralrich Antarctic. The new law of the sea space regime has similarly burdened

the Aegean with the potential for conflict. Disputes may also result from the

territorial expansion elsewhere, whether in the Caribbean or in the peripheral

seas of East Asia.

After the riches off the coasts were distributed through nationalization, the

battle for the treasures of the ocean in the rest of the high seas broke out

in the final phase of the Law of the Sea Conference. While the water space

will remain open sea, the ores detected in the nodules on the sea bottom,

whether manganese, nickel, cobalt, or copper, are to be placed by the Law of

the Sea Conference under the custody of the United Nations. In this titanic

struggle over future deep sea mining, the stake for the Federal Republic is

not only the manganese nodules as a welcome reserve of raw material, and not

only additional export opportunities for German industry with a new technology

for the mining of the nodules. At the same time the market economy as a basis

of world economic cooperation is being debated. The majority of the conference, led on by the Third World, wants to throw market economics overboard.

The developing countries insist on state-directed experiments in seabed mining, although so many of them have in the meantime accumulated bad experiences

in their own countries with planned economy models.

Even The Third World Would Do Better With Private Initiative

The states of the Third World, as has been often demonstrated, develop more

rapidly if they are oriented toward the market economy at least in the beginning. They do better with more private and less state initiative. Sea

mining, as a great asset of international division.of labor, would have to be

carried out with as much private economic initiative as possible. It can proceed certainly only within a firm framework of regulations. Within this

framework the developing countries must have a chance to participate appropriate to the riches of the sea. The basic capital for this sea mining is

nevertheless to come from suppliers of capital the world over, who must regard the prospect as enticing in order to provide the many billions necessary

for the economic and technological adventure of deep sea mining. It would be

a mistake to assume that this new and unusual task in the interest of mankind

can be mastered only by states, organizations of states, and international

organizations, at least under the domination of state or supranational authorities. Sea mining needs adequate private, entrepreneurial pioneering spirit

and a sufficiently market oriented organization, not as a matter of ideology,

but because it is more effective than all planned economy models.

The Third World on the other hand has devised a world raw materials bureaucracy for sea mining. It is.to be directed unilaterally by the developing

countries. Private initiative has only a marginal role in this so-called

"sea regime." As this regime has been negotiated in the Law of the Sea

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Conference, the developing countries will hardly derive any benefit from it.

It would at the most help a few states in the traditional production of nonferrous metals. All in all the production of the resources of the ocean

would be more hindered than helped. Deep sea bed mining would be delayed and

made more expensive, and could perhaps even be crippled.

A series of obstacles have been built into the planned regulation of seabed

mining: 1. A superbureaucracy, a sea authority of the United Nations would

necessarily make deep sea mining cumbersome. 2. Private initiative would

have too little room alongside the sea authority's own mining undertaking

(Enterprise). 3. An economically stable development of the international

collective enterprise and the private and state mining companies working

parallel with it would be made impossible through irrelevant political influence by the authority. 4. The investment risk, which is extraordinarily high

in any case, would be even more discouraging through the price and quantity

regulations of this model. 5. Seabed mining is artificially to be limited

to take into account mining on dry land. 6. The economic feasibility of deep

seabed mining will be further jeopardized by the excessively high financial

fees which are to be paid by the licensees to the sea authority. Up to now

the demands have been so exorbitant that seabed mining cannot compete with

mining on dry land. 7. Even the development of modern marine technology

could not be amortized, since the marine technology industry is to be forced

to turn over to the seabed authority and interested parties of the Third

World the most up to date equipment at allegedly commercial, but nevertheless

on balance unsuitable prices.

All this involves too much protectionism, bureaucratic high-handedness, legal

and economic insecurity and political tumult. Completely new forms of state

economic planning are to be introduced into the world economic system through

the Law of the Sea Convention. If traditional raw materials production is

to be protected by production limitations in seabed mining against competition

from new mining areas, in this case on the seabed, it is highly questionable

economically and politically. One must also reject a new-style compulsory industry, which provides for delivery of technology at discount prices. The

right of ownership in the text of the convention is grossly disregarded with

this summons to forced technological transfer. National technical developments are to be socialized internationally. Were all this to become reality

for the first time there would be practiced that new "world economic order"

which the Third World has been.demanding for years at all conferences of the

United Nations: a comprehensive planned world economy. This "deep sea regime"

would be, as the Schleswig-Holstein Minister of Economics Westphal says, is an

historic decision to the extent "that the United Nations would for the first

time get an organization at its disposal which would receive supranational

management assignments and with the help of its own mining enterprise would

also be commercially active—a completely new development."

The Federal Government and all parties in the Bundestag have so far left no

doubt that they regard such a bureaucratic-planned economy structure—like an

octopus on seabed mining—as.a mistake. Recently all the errors were listed

in a reply of the Federal Government to a major interpellation of the opposition. Nevertheless there are still advisers in Bonn who recommend the

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signature of the convention on three grounds: First, the usable part of the

law of the sea is so important that the disadvantages in deep seabed mining

should be taken into the bargain. Secondly the relationship between the industrial nations and the developing countries should not be further burdened

by a crude rejection of the convention. Thirdly the Federal Republic can

secure a seat and a voice, and hence influence in the preparatory commission,

which makes important prior decisions for future sea mining.

These viewpoints are certain to.be taken into account when the arguments for

or against accession to the convention are soon to be weighed in Bonn. But

in this regard the possibilities of changing the system in the preparatory

commission must be considered slight; for the commission, like the plenum of

the Law of the Sea Conference, has a majority of the developing countries, so

that the Federal Republic and other industrial states disillusioned over the

sea regime have practically no influence in it.

The West Cannot Overlook Reagan's Rejection

The key question in the decision on the convention must be: Can Bonn place

its signature on a draft treaty which the government and parliament consider

unacceptable in essential passages? The American President is logical on this

point. He does not sign what he considers to be false. The Federal Government cannot ignore this clear No, since it fully shares Reagan's opinion on

deep seabed mining. Bonn must adjust itself to the idea likewise of not signing the convention. Nevertheless there is much in the meantime to discuss

with the Western partners, which "at the highest level" and even at the summit

have altogether neglected or forgotten the Law of the Sea Conference.

The West should try once again to make a sincere attempt to arrive at a common

approach to the question of the seabed mining, and at the same time consult

with a Third World on reasonable compromise solutions in intensified contacts.

The Third World must be made aware that the Convention on the Law of the Sea

will become waste paper if other industrial nations, join the United States, the

greatest oceanic and industrial power, in refusing to sign.

6108

CSO: 5200/2123 END

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