PARIS, June 21 (Xinhua) -- French Defense Minister Florence Parly said Thursday that the country should invest more in surveillance of outer space to reinforce new space assets and the systems using them.
Asked about U.S. President Donald Trump's order to create a sixth branch of the U.S. military to focus on space, Parly stressed "in the military planning law, we consider that space is a major area in which indeed there could be eventually some confrontations".
"So, we must be able to invest more in space than we do today so that we can monitor it and prevent it from becoming a theater for major confrontations," she told France2 television.
Under the Outer Space Treaty, the basic legal framework of international space law signed in 1967, countries are not allowed to install weapons of mass destruction in space and are called to restrict the use of the moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes.
As to France's 2019-2025 military planning law, Parly hailed "a historic" budget devoted to modernize the army's equipment and improve military staff's efficiency.
"It's the first time that the army's means are increasing and progressing with a consistent way to repair the shortcomings of the past and prepare the army of tomorrow," the minister said.
The government's military new law, currently debating in parliament, totaled 295 billion euros (339.81 billion U.S. dollars).