WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Monday said he was ordering the creation of a sixth branch of the military to focus on space.

"It is not enough to merely have an American presence in space. We must have American dominance in space," Trump said before a meeting of his National Space Council.

"We are going to have the Air Force and we're going to have the 'Space Force'. Separate but equal. It is going to be something," he said later.

The United States is a member of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which bars the stationing of weapons of mass destruction in space and allows only for the use of the moon and other celestial bodies for peaceful purposes.

The idea of a space force has been raised before, by Trump and previous administrations, with proponents saying it would make the Pentagon more efficient.

It also has faced criticism from senior military officials.

Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein told a 2017 congressional hearing that creating a new space branch would "move us in the wrong direction". The Air Force oversees most of the country's space-related military activity.

The move would require the budgetary approval of the US Congress, which has been divided on the idea.

"Thankfully, the president can't do it without Congress because now is NOT the time to rip the Air Force apart. Too many missions at stake," US Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat, said on Twitter.

Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said the department's policy board would prepare to implement Trump's order.

Reuters

(China Daily USA 06/19/2018 page2)