Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XI, Arms Control and Disarmament

243. Draft Memorandum From Secretary of State Rusk to President Johnson¹

Washington, undated.

SUBJECT

• Arms Control on the Seabed (U)

Recommendation

That the U.S. Government adopt the position that nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction shall not be emplaced on or within the ocean seabed, and that it is prepared to enter into serious discussions in order to achieve an appropriate international agreement in this area.

Discussion

The U.S. Government is strongly supporting international cooperative efforts involving the ocean, including your most recent proposal on “An International Decade of Ocean Exploration”. A positive arms control approach to the seabed complements our current stated policies involving the ocean and its resources. It is important in its own right by prohibiting weapons of mass destruction in a new environment, will provide a means for fending off less acceptable seabed arms control measures which have been suggested by other nations, and could lead to further steps in controlling the strategic arms race.

This position, if implemented, would prohibit the emplacement or fixing of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction on or in the seabed. It would not prohibit any U.S. military systems in current DOD plans; the deployment of submarines and necessary surveillance and detection systems would not be limited in any way.

Verification problems of this position are similar to, but somewhat more difficult than, those associated with the banning of weapons of mass destruction in outer space. I believe that our verification capabilities are adequate to protect U.S. security interests when considered in conjunction with the current and projected overall strategic balance, the limited relative advantage to the Soviet Union of limited clandestine deployments of such weapons on the seabed, and the political penalties attached to the detection of such deployments.

Your approval of the recommended position will permit the U.S. Government to take a positive approach to arms control on the seabed at the meeting of the U.N. Ad Hoc Committee on the Seabed opening June 17. It would serve as a basis for subsequent discussions at the resumed session of the Eighteen-Nation Disarmament Conference [Committee] in Geneva and the UN General Assembly.²

I believe that the foregoing represents a consensus of the views of most members of the Committee of Principals.

1. Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 383, Central Policy File: FRC 85 A 83, Deputies—6/4/68, “Arms Control on the Seabed.” Secret; Noforn. The source text was submitted under cover of a June 4 memorandum from Foster to the Deputies to the Committee of Principals informing them that, in accordance with the decision reached at the June 3 Committee of Principals meeting that he was forwarding for their concurrence a memorandum in draft form that recommended a U.S. position on arms control on the seabed.
2. The Eighteen-Nation Disarmament Committee resumed meeting on July 18, after having been in recess since March 14. It reconvened for a period of approximately 6 weeks during which time the U.S. Delegation was headed by Foster.