Yes it is. Otherwise you're putting yourself at a strategic disadvantage. It's an inevitable outcome of the technology being available. We have great weather satellites now partly because knowing the weather and observing agriculture in other countries makes us economically competitive.

If a technology exists it's going to be used, within the normal variations of supply and demand. You might prefer to abstain from using a particular technology, but there's also the possibility that it will get used on you. From a governmental perspective, a country has a requirement to be as aware of its political environment as it can for the sake of its citizens' safety.