Modernising military remains top priority as China boosts defence spending to US$175.98 billion after announcement in Two Sessions

• Funding will rise to US$175.98 billion in 2019 – up by 7.5 per cent from 2018 but less than the 8.1 per cent growth last year
• Analyst says the increase will ‘only fuel greater and deeper suspicion of Beijing’s motivations and strategic objectives’