(b)
(c)
(a)
(e)
it might also have far-reaching consequences as a precedent for future arms control
agreements;
it is doubtful whether the US Government could achieve inter-agency agreement to a
negotiating position which did not require high quality NSS in the Soviet Union;
the US Administration's chances of obtaining Senate approval for a CTB treaty would be very significantly diminished if the SVA did not provide for high quality NSS;
the absence of good NSS arrangements in the SVA might encourage non-nuclear weapon states (NNWS) to conclude that the nuclear weapon states (NWS) were interested only in a brief pause in nuclear testing.
NSS IN THE UK AND DEPENDENT TERRITORIES
11.
The list of locations suggested by the Russians for NSS in the UK and dependent territories is given, with comments, in Part I of Annex A to this paper. .. Part II of Annex A considers other sites not suggested by the Russians. The one place in the UK itself which the Russians have named Eskdalemuir in Scotland is already the site of a seismic monitoring station which could be upgraded for operation as an NSS. This would be the only NSS on UK territory during the first 2 years of the treaty. But the 9 suggested locations in British dependent territories are unsatisfactory in a number of respects. Four are in territories that are, or soon will be, independent. Others are open to practical or political objections. In particular, there is in our view no convincing technical justification for NSS in the UK and dependent territories. We have regarded the SVA as a necessary supplement to the capabilities of NTM, for monitoring the large land areas of the USA and Soviet Union. In comparison the area covered by the UK and dependent territories is very small; and because of the proximity of the sea it is technically possible to deploy ship-borne NTM very close to every piece of our territory. None of the suggested locations would monitor areas where we could seriously be expected to conduct nuclear tests or could do so without being detected by Soviet NTM.
12.
However the Russians have made clear that, since they see no technical need for NSS anywhere under a 3 year
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