asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will propose at the resumed Conference on the Law of the Sea in Geneva that, in return for recognition of an economic zone of 200 miles, coastal States should accept a system of revenue-sharing within such a zone.

At Caracas I indicated the Government's willingness to consider the concept of an economic zone of up to 200 miles. However, we could not accept that the revenue derived from the exploitation of resources lying within such a zone should be shared with the international authority.