US decides to establish ‘Space Force’ to dominate outer space, Russia warns of retaliation

Washington/Moscow – “Mere presence in the outer space is not enough for the security of the United States. But Dominating the outer space is very important from the security point of view and for this purpose, the United States is creating an independent ‘Space Force’,” announced US President Donald Trump. Russia has taken a serious note of this and has said that this announcement by the US President is a warning bell to which Russia will retaliate.

‘The United States has to be a leader in the field of outer space. It cannot afford to let Russia and China outperform itself in this field,’ President Trump underlined the importance of the ‘Space Force’ with these words. The Space Force will be established as the sixth branch of the United States’ ArmedForces. While saying that dominating the outer space is important for the United States, President Trump added that the future of the United States is not limited only to the earth. At the same time, President Trump pointed out that the establishment of a Space Force is important in the interest of US security.

Space Force will be an independent entity just like the US Air Force and will operate independently, informed President Trump. There has been a longstanding demand that the United States establish a Space Force. An agreement for not deploying weapons of mass destruction in outer space was signed in 1967 with the US being one of the signatories. So the question that is being asked now is whether the US Space Force violates the agreement by deploying the lethal weapons in outer space. The members of the US Congress have also raised various other questions regarding the Space Force.

Meanwhile, there has been a strong reaction from Russia on the announcement by the US President. Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that the announcement of establishment of a Space Force by President Trump is a warning bell. Cautioning that this decision will have its own repercussions, Zakharova warned that this could lead to militarisation of the outer space. Zakharova also expressed concern that this will create a military imbalance which can pose a threat to the global security.

Russia also has a Space Force but it is used exclusively for defensive purposes and this Russian unit works only to promote peace, claimed Zakharova. Saying that the Russian position on this issue is thus diametrically opposite to that of the US, Zakharova expressed concerns over the US President’s decision. Viktor Bondarev a member of the Russian Parliament has termed this decision by the US President as irresponsible, and has accused that this is in violation of the agreement related to outer space, signed in 1967.

Bondarev expressed fears saying that, ‘If the United States doesn’t honour the agreement, not only Russia, but any other country can also disregard the agreement and take a similar decision. This will lead to an arms race in the outer space.’

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