ABSTRACT
Direct limitation and reduction of naval armaments are the most effective methods of strengthening stability on the high seas. In contrast to confidence-building measures and the regulation of naval activity, the specific character of the limitation of naval armaments lies in the fact that they cannot be restricted to any one region. Carriers of such highly effective naval weapon systems as anti-ship cruise missiles now include not only large ships, but also motorboats, which are becoming more and more popular in modern navies. Prospects are open to safeguard security, first through unilateral reductions by both sides, followed by agreed upon reduced levels of naval armaments, and ending with the limitation or perhaps prohibition of further quantitative and even qualitative increases. The best known of such measures is the limitation of tonnage that was incorporated in the 1920s and 1930s in treaties concluded at the Washington and London conferences on naval armaments.
