Message to the Senate Transmitting the Seabed Arms Control Treaty.

To the Senate of the United States:

I am transmitting herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification, the Treaty on the Prohibition of the Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction on the Seabed and the Ocean Floor and in the Subsoil Thereof, opened for signature at Washington, London and Moscow on February 11, 1971.

This Treaty is the product of intensive negotiations during the past two years at the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament at Geneva and at the United Nations. On December 7, 1970, 104 members of the United Nations voted to commend the Treaty and urged that it be opened for signature and ratification at the earliest possible date.

In broadest outline this Treaty prohibits the emplacement of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction on the seabed beyond the outer limits of a 12-mile coastal "seabed zone" defined in the Treaty. The provisions of the Treaty are described in detail in the accompanying report of the Secretary of State.

The seabed is man's last frontier on earth, and that frontier should be a source of promise. This Treaty represents a practical and timely step toward helping protect this new environment. It is a significant addition to the structure of multilateral arms control agreements such as the Limited Test Ban Treaty, the Antarctic Treaty, the Outer Space Treaty, and the Non-Proliferation Treaty, contributing to international security.

I consider this Treaty to be in the interest of the United States and the entire world community and recommend that the Senate give its advice and consent to ratification.

RICHARD NIXON

The White House July 21, 1971