U.S. President Donald Trump hosts a meeting of the National Space Council in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 18, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Monday said he was clearing the way for the United States to exercise extra-terrestrial dominance by establishing a new, sixth branch of the military that he dubbed a “space force.”

“Our destiny beyond the Earth is not only a matter of national identity, but a matter of national security,” Trump said at a White House event attended by former astronaut Buzz Aldrin as well as executives of major aerospace companies.

“When it comes to defending America it is not enough to merely have an American presence in space. We must have American dominance in space.”