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

366. Letter From the Chief of Naval Operations (Burke) to the Secretary of State¹

Washington, April 16, 1958.

Dear Mr. Secretary: I am writing to you again in connection with recent developments in the Geneva Law of the Sea Conference. As you know, on Sunday I gave Navy approval to a recommendation by Mr. Dean that our delegation be authorized to work for a new compromise, i.e., six mile territorial sea plus a six mile contiguous zone for fisheries, qualified by historic fishing rights. This decision on my part was made with a deep sense of the resultant loss to U.S. seapower. It was made solely to avoid the imminent probability of something far worse. I can assure you it was made with great reluctance.

At the same time, I expressed my grave concern with the recent Committee action on Article 24 requiring advance authorization or notification for warships to transit territorial waters in general. I don’t see how we can live with such a requirement. Even worse, however, is the additional action by the same Committee which casts doubt on the right of warships to navigate international straits compromising territorial waters without authorization. This is shocking and directly counter to established international law and practice—we cannot accept it. As you know, such a requirement would severely burden naval mobility and create all sorts of international complications and tensions.

I should think that if the U.S. is prepared to make a real sacrifice on the breadth of the territorial sea, we should be able to muster support for our position on the innocent passage issue, at least among our friends. However, a telegram received from Mr. Dean yesterday, 15 April (Embtel 1142²), casts serious doubt on this unless drastic action is taken. I can understand our inability to gain support from some of the countries mentioned, but it is inconceivable to me that we cannot count on our allies and friends when the chips are down on issues vital to security of the Free World. This is particularly true in the case of the Philippines, Korea and China. It is, in my opinion, truly a shocking situation.

Again, may I say that I reluctantly approved a real sacrifice on the breadth of the territorial sea. I urgently request that you use every means available to secure support for our delegation on these vital issues.³

With warmest personal regards,

Sincerely,

Arleigh Burke

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 399.731/4–1658. Confidential.
2. Telegram 1142 from Geneva, April 15, analyzed 7 votes in the First Committee which showed that 35 countries had not voted with the United States even once, and another 12 on only one occasion. (Ibid., 399.731/4–1558)
3. In replying for the Secretary of State on April 18, Herter explained that the U.S. proposal had been put forth only “with great reluctance,” and the Department of State was working hard to reverse the decision on innocent passage. (Ibid., 399.731/4–1658)