ABSTRACT
In all historical periods, the principal economic interest in the sea has arisen from the terrestrial riches to which control of the sea lanes gave access. The series of events that is supposed to culminate in an international agreement on a new regime for the sea was initiated by a declaration in 1945. This declaration was the first to deal a blow to the age-old regime and was animated solely by concern for the mineral wealth of the marine depths. The President Truman administration preferred to define the shelf according to its maximum depth, rather than by the borders suggested by marine science. The Truman proclamation was a break with tradition. In a communique accompanying President Truman's proclamation, it was explained that the decision taken by the American government "would render possible an orderly development of an underwater area of 750,000 square miles".
