subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means." In our view, taking into account the codification of and practice under international law, including this Treaty, the principles set forth therein apply to the geostationary orbit and preclude any claims of national sovereignty over that orbital location.

Finally, with regard to the claim that a gap in the law exists with respect to particular uses of outer space in the geostationary orbit (for example, communications), it must be recalled that during the negotiation of the Outer Space Treaty, the phrase "... and use" of outer space was specifically added to indicate international acceptance of peaceful activities in outer space other than scientific exploration only. Commercial satellite communications activities utilizing the geostationary orbit were well in hand and were widely known at the time, and no objection or exception to those activities was made either in the text of the Treaty or during its negotiation. Furthermore, the travaux preparatoires reflect no intention of the drafters of the Treaty to except commercial activities from its application. The United States cannot, therefore, agree with the assertion that such a "gap" or "omission" exists in present international law or would be desirable in the future.

Press Release USUN-18 (77), Apr. 7, 1977.

On October 21, 1976, Phillip V. Sanchez, U.S. Ambassador to Colombia, sent a note to Indalecio Lievano Aguirre, Minister of Foreign Relations of Colombia, giving U.S. views on assertions of sovereignty over geosynchronous orbit positions. In part Ambassador Sanchez' note read as follows:

Although there are certain limitations on the locations in outer space where present satellites may be placed in geosynchronous orbits, namely where those satellites may be placed so that they circle the Earth at the same rate at which the Earth rotates on its polar axis, this fact in no way furnishes any basis for a legal exception to the general prohibition on national appropriation of any portion of outer space.

Such locations are considered as a scarce natural resource, and the International Telecommunication Union has properly developed special technical radio regulations for their use. However, such regulations in no way endorse or furnish any basis for claims of national sovereignty over those locations or orbits.

[Ilt should be recalled that during the negotiation of the 1967 Treaty the phrase "and use of" outer space was specifically added as an indication of international acceptance of peaceful activities in outer space other than scientific exploration. INTELSAT, for example, was already well underway as a commercial activity utilizing geosynchronous orbits, and no objection or exception to those activities were made in the Treaty.

Dept. of State File No. P77 0001-573.

Free Flow of Information

In a closing statement on April 8, 1977, before the Legal Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, Kalman Schaefer of the Office of Telecommunications Policy of the Executive Office of the President and a member of the U.S. delegation, affirmed U.S. support for the free flow of information with regard to the elaboration of the draft principles governing the use by States of artificial Earth satellites for direct television broadcasting. Mr. Schaefer's statement, which dealt with the legal implications of remote sensing of the Earth from space, follows:

[T]hroughout our discussions in Working Group II on Direct Television Broadcasting from Satellites, as well as those in Working Group III on remote sensing of the natural resources of the Earth and its environment, my delegation has consistently supported the free flow of information unrestricted by national boundaries. In the case of DBS, we have maintained that a regime of prior consent would violate the right, affirmed in article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to "seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." In the context of remote sensing of the Earth by satellite, article XI of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty adds to this fundamental principle of free flow of information the mandate that States Parties "agree to inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations as well as the public and the international scientific community, to the greatest extent feasible and practical, of the nature, conduct, location and results of such activities."

The United States encourages the free and open exchange of information and ideas. While it respects differences among cultures, it also recognizes the need to maximize the beneficial use of new space technologies. Adoption of restrictive regulations or principles will hamper the continued development and cooperative use of technology which might otherwise bring many educational, economic and social benefits to the international community, particularly to developing countries.

In respect to direct TV broadcasting from artificial Earth satellites, we believe that it is very important that all countries, and especially the developing countries, have equitable access to the use of satellite communications to obtain for their populations the numerous benefits which can flow from application of this new technology. We agree that direct broadcast satellite services should be broadly available to all nations and should not be the exclusive domain of those few nations that may have the technical capability to launch and operate such satellites. The year-long cooperative satellite broadcasting experiment conducted by India with the use of a U.S. satellite, and the AID satellite demonstration projects conducted in 1976 involving 26 countries, are noteworthy examples of the potential value of broadcasting satellites as tools to serve the best interests of the world.

The decisions of the recent ITU [International Telecommunication Union] World Administrative Radio Conference dealt with the assignment of frequencies and orbital spaces aimed at making available to all peoples the services of this technology in a technically manageable way. The United States will do its part in contributing to the technical expertise that many countries may need in order to be able to begin employing this technology.

In the field of remote sensing of the natural resources of the Earth and its environment, we strongly believe that the best way to maximize the benefits of that technology is through the open and nondiscriminatory dissemination of data. In our view, adoption of this approach is the only way to ensure that the benefits of remote sensing will not become the sole province of those few States which at present can launch, operate, and receive data from space about the natural resources of the Earth and its environment. It has been through the free flow of scientific and technical data that the world has made great strides in such fields as weather forecasting, medicine, physics and astronomy (to name only a few). Having operated the experimental Landsat program for five years, we know full well of the many advances that have been made in this field in this short time, while no delegation in attendance at these meetings has been able to point to a single instance of abuse resulting from the open and nondiscriminatory dissemination of the data gathered by the Landsat program.

We therefore believe strongly that the principle of free flow of information must not be undermined in any way by the principles we are seeking to develop in this Legal Subcommittee, whether it be with respect to Direct Broadcasting from Satellites, to remote sensing of the natural resources of the Earth, or to any other future subject of our deliberation.

Press Release USUN-19 (77), Apr. 8, 1977.

Mr. Schaefer was responding to the following draft statement of principles on consultation and agreements between states which had been formulated by the Working Group of the Legal Subcommittee:

Consultation and agreements between States

[[A] direct television broadcasting [satellite service] specifically directed at a foreign State [, in those cases in which the coverage of that State is perImitted under the relevant instruments of the International Telecommunication Union,] shall be based on appropriate agreements and/or arrangements between the broadcasting and receiving States [or the broadcasting entities duly authorized by the respective States], in order to facilitate the freer and wider dissemination of information of all kinds and to encourage cooperation in the field of information and the exchange of information with other countries.

For that purpose [in those cases in which the coverage of that State is permitted under the relevant instruments of the International Telecommunication Union,] a State which proposes to establish or authorize the establishment of a direct television broadcasting [service] by means of artificial Earth satellites specifically directed at a foreign State shall without delay notify that State of such intention and shall enter into consultations with that State if the latter so requests.

No such agreements and/or arrangements shall be required with respect to the overspill of the radiation of the satellite signal within the limits established under the relevant instruments of the International Telecommunication Union.]

U.N. Doc. A/AC.105/196, Annex II, p. 3, Apr. 11, 1977.

The Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and other Celestial Bodies done on Jan. 27, 1967, entered into force for the United States on Oct. 10, 1967 (TIAS 6347; 18 UST 2410; 610 UNTS 205).

International Cooperative Projects

U.S.-U.S.S.R.

On May 18, 1977, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko signed in Geneva an Agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union Concerning Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes (TIAS 8732; entered into force on May 24, 1977). The Agreement calls for a continuation of several of the activities begun under the Agreement Concerning Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes signed on May 24, 1972 (TIAS 7347; 23 UST 867; entered into force on May 24, 1972). These activities, which are set out in article 1 of the 1977 Agreement, include the exchange of rocket and satellite meteorological data and the development of methods of meteorological measurements from rockets and satellites; the study of natural environment through remote sensing of agricultural crops and natural vegetation areas; the exchange of data and experience from exploratory missions to the Moon, Mars. and Venus and the exchange of samples from lunar projects; the exchange of information on the biomedical aspects of manned space flight, including flight data, for the purpose of achieving common examination procedures; and the flight of U.S. biological experiments on Soviet biological satellites. Article I also calls for cooperation in one new project area: the experimental development of satellite search and rescue systems to locate and assist in the rescue of ships and aircraft in distress.

Article III of the new Agreement provides that the parties will cooperate "in the area of manned space flight . . . including the use in joint flights of compatible docking and rendezvous systems derived from those developed during the experimental flight of Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft in July 1975." In article IV the parties agree to "encourage international efforts to resolve problems of international law in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes with the aim of strengthening the legal order in space and further developing international space law . . . ."

The work of the Agreement is to be carried out by the appropriate national agencies, which are the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Academy of Sciences of the

U.S.S.R. The Agreement is to remain in force until May 24, 1982, and then may be modified, terminated, or extended by mutual agreement of the parties.

Dept. of State File L/T.

Anti-Satellite Weapons

On December 13, 1977, Douglas J. Bennet, Jr., Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations, wrote Representative Ronald V. Dellums to respond to a letter from Representative Dellums requesting answers to certain questions posed by a constituent regarding possible international law prohibitions on the development of anti-satellite weapons. In answering that there is presently no specific international prohibition on the development of such systems, Assistant Secretary Bennet's letter considered the provisions of the Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union on the Limitation of AntiBallistic Missile Systems signed on May 26, 1972 (TIAS 7503; 23 UST 3462; entered into force on October 3, 1972), and the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies done on January 27, 1967 (TIAS 6347; 18 UST 2410; 610 UNTS 205; entered into force for the United States on October 10, 1967).

Excerpts from Assistant Secretary Bennet's letter follow:

[S]everal articles have recently appeared in the press discussing reported efforts by the United States and the Soviet Union to develop anti-satellite capabilities. In his press conference of October 4, Secretary of Defense Brown stated that the Soviet Union has an operational anti-satellite capability and that the United States has undertaken a preliminary exploration and design effort in this area. Unfortunately, because of the highly sensitive nature of the subject matter, we are not in a position to comment further on this subject..

. Article XII (2) of the 1972 Treaty on the Limitation of AntiBallistic Missile Systems, to which [your constituent] refers as possibly prohibiting development of anti-satellite weapons, simply sets forth an undertaking "not to interfere with the national technical means of verification of the other Party" which are operating in a manner consistent with generally recognized principles of international law. By its terms, this provision prohibits interference rather than the development of means that could make such interference possible. An identical provision was contained in article V of the 1972 Interim Agreement on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms.

[Your constituent] also cites the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. This Treaty clearly posits a general norm of peaceful use and inter

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