Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, United Nations and General International Matters, Volume II

381. Letter From the Acting Secretary of Defense (Gates) to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Murphy)¹

Washington, October 19, 1959.

Dear Bob: Attached is a copy of a Joint Chiefs of Staff Memorandum dated 14 October 1959, stating their position concerning the impact upon United States security of any extension of territorial sea limits. The Department of Defense is in full accord with the conclusions expressed therein and believes they should form the basis of the United States position at the forthcoming United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea.

I am advised that on 26 August 1959, Mr. Dillon determined that United States pre-Conference negotiations “should be conducted with a view to incurring minimum damage to United States fishing interests.”² It is understood that one of the primary reasons for the claims of many states to an extensive territorial sea is their demand for exclusive control over fishing near their coasts, and that some of these states would accept a narrower territorial sea if this demand for exclusive fisheries control were satisfied. It is recognized that establishment of such control would be contrary to United States fishing interests in waters off the coasts of other countries. It would appear, however, that a policy of minimal concessions to this demand for coastal fishing control may jeopardize the security interests of the United States by increasing the risk of unsatisfactory Conference action with regard to the breadth of the territorial sea.

I believe that the question of the relative weight to be accorded to our security and fishing interests in determining United States policy, in the event it is not clear that both can be fully served without serious risk, is of such importance that it should be referred to the National Security Council. I would appreciate your comments with regard to this course of action.

Sincerely yours,

Thomas S. Gates

[Enclosure]

Memorandum From the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Secretary of Defense (McElroy)³

JCSM–424–59

Washington, October 14, 1959.

SUBJECT

• Extension of Territorial Sea Limits

1. With reference to United States participation in the United Nations sponsored Conference on the Law of the Sea to be held in Geneva in early 1960, the position of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is that:

a. Any extension of the breadth of the territorial sea seriously and adversely affects the security interests of the United States.

b. The United States should strive to achieve agreement on as narrow a territorial sea breadth as possible but in any event not to exceed 6 miles.

c. The United States should strive to settle, separately, issues which may be raised at the Conference, which are severable from the question of the breadth of the territorial sea, in order that the security interests of the United States may not be unnecessarily jeopardized.

For the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

N.F. Twining⁴
Chairman
Joint Chiefs of Staff

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 399.731/10–1959. Confidential.
2. See Document 379.
3. Confidential.
4. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.