China announced a double-digit hike in military spending in 2012, in a move likely to fuel concerns about Beijing's rapid military build-up and increase regional tensions.

The defence budget will rise 11.2 percent to 670.27 billion yuan ($106.41 billion), said Li Zhaoxing, a spokesman for China's national parliament, citing a budget report submitted to the country's rubber-stamp legislature.

The figure marks a slowdown from 2011 when spending rose by 12.7 percent but is still likely to fuel worries over China's growing assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region and push its neighbours to forge closer ties with the United States.

Li described the budget as "relatively low" as a percentage of gross domestic product compared with other countries and said it was aimed at "safeguarding sovereignty, national security and territorial integrity".

"We have a large territory and a long coastline but our defence spending is relatively low compared with other major countries," Li told reporters on Sunday.

"It will not in the least pose a threat to other countries."

China has been increasing its military spending by double digits for most of the past decade, during which time its economy, now the world's second largest, grew at a blistering pace.

The People's Liberation Army -- the world's largest with an estimated 2.3 million troops -- is hugely secretive about its defence programmes, but insists its modernisation is purely defensive in nature.

The rapid military build-up has nevertheless set alarm bells ringing across Asia and in Washington, which announced in January a defence strategy focused on countering China's rising power.

Analysts said the smaller-than-expected increase in spending this year was an attempt by Beijing to ease concerns in the United States and the region about its growing military might.

"It is doubtful whether the message will get across because most countries know that the real budget is at least double the published one," said Willy Lam, a leading China expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Lam said funding for modernising the country's military was not included in the published budget, which mostly covered salaries for defence personnel and maintenance of existing equipment.

Money for research and development of modern weaponry "comes from elsewhere", he said.

Taiwan-based PLA expert Arthur Ding said the still considerable growth in this year's budget would push "regional countries to try to build closer ties with the United States".

"China has to explain and try to convince the regional countries why they need such a high growth rate," Ding told AFP.

Tokyo has repeatedly questioned Beijing's military intentions. A Japanese government-backed report last month warned that Beijing's assertiveness in the South China Sea could soon be replicated in neighbouring waters.

China lays claim to essentially all of the South China Sea, where its professed ownership of the Spratly archipelago overlaps with claims by Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.

Beijing and Tokyo also have a long-standing dispute over an uninhabited but strategically coveted island chain known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, which lies between Japan and Taiwan in the East China Sea.

The two sides have occasionally clashed diplomatically over the issue, most notably in late 2010, when Japan arrested the captain of a Chinese fishing vessel near the island chain after a collision with its coastguard.

China began revamping the PLA -- the former ragtag peasant force formed in 1927 by the Communist Party -- in earnest after a troubled 1979 incursion into Vietnam, when the neighbours vied for influence over Southeast Asia.

Besides conventional weaponry upgrades, the push also led to China's fast-growing space programme and the test of a satellite-destroying weapon in 2007.

Last year it unveiled its first aircraft carrier, a 300-metre-long (990-foot) former Soviet naval vessel that had its first sea trial in August.

China's defence budget is expected to double between 2011 and 2015 and outstrip the combined spending of all other key defence markets in the Asia-Pacific region, global research group IHS said last month.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the heavily armed border with rival South Korea and ordered troops to be on high alert, state media reported Sunday, just days after Washington and Pyongyang agreed to a nuclear deal after years of deadlock.

Kim's visit to Panmunjom village in the Demilitarized Zone, his first reported trip there since the December death of his father, Kim Jong Il, comes amid escalating militaristic rhetoric aimed at U.S. ally South Korea.

Recent North Korean threats, including vows of a "sacred war" against Seoul over U.S.-South Korean military drills, appear to be aimed at a domestic audience, analysts say, and could be an effort to bolster Kim Jong Un's credentials as a military leader after showing off his diplomatic skills on the U.S. nuclear deal.

Still, the rhetoric keeps the region on edge and complicates diplomatic efforts to settle the standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Washington has said that better inter-Korean ties are crucial for diplomacy to succeed. North Korea has also acted on its threats in the past. Fifty South Koreans died in violence blamed on North Korea in 2010, leading to fears of a broader conflict.

On Sunday, tens of thousands of North Koreans rallied in Pyongyang, vowing to topple South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who ended a no-strings-attached aid policy to the North when he took power in 2008, instead linking assistance to nuclear disarmament. The city's main Kim Il Sung Square was packed with soldiers dressed in olive green uniforms and citizens who stood at attention as speakers criticized Lee's government. Huge propaganda placards and portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il towered above the crowd.

In rhetoric typical of the North, military chief Ri Yong Ho warned in a speech that the North Korean army would "sweep out" the South Korean traitors using their guns, according to footage from North Korea's state TV.

Soldiers and citizens later paraded in rows through the plaza, carrying fluttering red flags, pumping their fists and chanting, "Let's kill Lee Myung-bak by tearing him to pieces."

The threats are aimed internally as Kim Jong Un bolsters his power among the elite and military as the third generation of his family to lead the country, said Jeung Young-tae, an analyst with the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.

"It's something that Kim Jong Un must do as the successor," Jeung said. "The North did a similar thing when Kim Jong Il appeared as the new leader" in 1994 following the death of his father, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, he said.

North Korea accuses the United States and South Korea of holding the joint military drills as preparation for a northward invasion. The allies say the military exercises, which began last week and are scheduled to end in late April, are routine and defensive in nature.

Pyongyang is also angry about a South Korean military unit near Seoul recently posting threatening slogans beneath portraits of Kim Jong Un and his father.

During his Panmunjom visit, Kim Jong Un told troops to "maintain the maximum alertness as they are standing in confrontation with the enemies at all times," according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

State TV aired photos of Kim, dressed in a dark overcoat, shaking hands with a helmeted soldier and giving rifles and machine guns as souvenirs to troops.

Panmunjom is a cluster of huts inside the 154-mile (248-kilometer) -long DMZ, which is jointly overseen by the U.S.-led U.N. Command and North Korea in an arrangement established in 1953 to supervise the cease-fire that ended the three-year Korean War. About 28,500 American troops are still stationed in South Korea.

Panmunjom has drawn other high-profile visitors in times of tension.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and then Defense Secretary Robert Gates traveled there in July 2010, four months after a warship sinking blamed on Pyongyang killed 46 South Korean sailors. North Korea has denied involvement. In 2002, then President George W. Bush visited Panmunjom a few weeks after he condemned North Korea as part of an "axis of evil."

On Saturday, a spokesman for North Korea's National Defense Commission told a news conference that the United States must halt the joint military drills if it is serious about peace on the Korean peninsula.

North Korea calls the U.S.-South Korean war games a threat to peace at a time when U.S. and North Korean officials are holding talks aimed at improving relations.

The U.S. and North Korea announced last week that Washington had agreed to provide 240,000 metric tons of food aid in exchange for a freeze of North Korea's nuclear activities. A U.S. envoy is scheduled to meet with North Korean officials in Beijing on Wednesday to discuss the distribution of food.

The deal is seen as a first step toward resuming six-nation nuclear disarmament-for-aid talks suspended in 2009, and a tentative move toward improving the tense relationship between the wartime foes. The six-nation talks involve the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan.

"Talks and military exercises are contradictory," Maj. Gen. Kwak Chol Hui, deputy director of the National Defense Commission's Policy Department, told the news conference Saturday in response to a question from The Associated Press.

North Korea considers the drills an additional affront because they are being staged during the semiofficial 100-day mourning period following Kim Jong Il's Dec. 17 death.

Across Pyongyang, vans mounted with speakers drove through the streets Saturday broadcasting the statement denouncing South Korea. State media reported that 1.7 million young North Koreans signed up for military service in a 24-hour period and that hundreds of thousands signed petitions calling for revenge. The figures could not be confirmed independently.

___

Associated Press writers Kim Kwang Hyon and Pak Won Il contributed to this report from Pyongyang, North Korea.

* McIlroy has two stroke lead

* Win would make him number one

* Tiger fails to make a move

(Adds detail, quotes)

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida March 3 (Reuters) - Rory

McIlroy took a big step towards gaining the number one spot in

the world rankings, grabbing a two stroke lead ahead of Sunday's

final round of the Honda Classic.

The Northern Irishman shot a four-under par 66 in windy

conditions on Saturday, recovering from successive bogeys on the

sixth and seventh holes to produce three birdies on the back

nine with some of his characteristically confident golf.

"It was another very solid day out there," he said. "I'm

very happy, obviously, with the position I'm in and I just need

to try and keep doing the same things tomorrow."

McIlroy, who can take over the top spot from Englishman Luke

Donald only with a victory, finished with a birdie on the 18th

hole, coming out of sand a little too strongly and then draining

a 12-foot putt from the opposite fringe.

The 22-year-old from Holywood stands at 11-under par for the

tournament and has a great chance of getting to the pinnacle of

the global rankings for the first time.

"I have to really stay in the present, stay in the moment

and not think about everything else that could happen, whether

it be going to number one or winning my first tournament

(here)," he said. "I've just got to go out there and try to put

a good number on the board."

But McIlory conceded it would be tough to keep his mind free

of the prospect of being number one.

"It might be a little bit difficult. It might creep in every

now and again but if you can keep it out for the majority of the

time, I think it is the best thing to do, " he said.

Americans Harris English and Tom Gillis were two strokes

behind McIlroy while Englishman Justin Rose and Americans Keegan

Bradley, the PGA Championship winner, and Brian Harman, who

smashed the course record on Friday, were a further two strokes

back.

English, a 22-year-old rookie, will play in McIlroy's group

along with journeyman Gillis.

"I think it is going to be fun. Two 22-year-olds and a

43-year-old," said Gillis.

"Hopefully they don't walk too fast and I can catch them

up," he said.

Tiger Woods, looking to make up ground, could only manage a

one-under 69, leaving him well back, nine shots off McIlroy.

"I was close to hitting a good one today," he said. "I hit

it good, putted good. Boy it was really close to being a really

low round."

The weather forecast for PGA National on Sunday calls for

possible thunderstorms, so the final round will begin early with

threesomes going off the first and 10th tees.

(Reporting By Simon Evans; Editing by Gene Cherry)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney has won the Washington state Republican caucuses. The former Massachusetts governor easily defeated former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Congressman Ron Paul, who were battling for second place. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich trailed further behind. Forty delegates are at stake in the state.

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Jim Calhoun was advised not to return to the bench so soon after back surgery, and was supposed to take it easy if he did.

So much for following doctor's orders.

Calhoun, who was out on medical leave for more than a month, was back pacing the sidelines and screaming Saturday, leading Connecticut to a 74-65 win over Pittsburgh.

"He was there to be our backbone when they was making runs," Huskies guard Ryan Boatright said." It was just a whole 'nother vibe with him back on the sidelines.

The surgeon who performed spinal surgery on the coach Monday was watching from the stands, said associate coach George Blaney who handled postgame media duties for the exhausted Calhoun.

"I walked into the locker room and he was standing there and I said, 'I knew you were going to be here,'" Blaney said. "He just smiled at me, and then we just went out there and performed today."

Shabazz Napier scored 23 points, including a big 3-pointer with a minute left, and Roscoe Smith added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Huskies (18-12, 8-10 Big East) who kept alive hopes for an at-large bid to defend their NCAA championship.

"He just brings that energy and it just makes me want to fight harder, even when I'm tired, on my last straw," guard Shabazz Napier said. "He just pumps his fist and I'm like, 'I'm not done, I'm going to keep going.' And he did that for everybody."

J.J. Moore led Pittsburgh (16-15, 5-13) with 16 points.

The Panthers, fresh off a 20-point win over St. John's, came back from a 14-point halftime deficit to take a 61-60 lead with 2:51 left on a 3-pointer by Tray Woodall, but could not hold on and lost for the sixth time in seven games.

UConn went on an 8-1 run, going up 66-61 on Napier's 3-pointer with just over a minute left, right after Smith took a charge from Moore to get UConn the ball.

The Huskies were up 70-62 after a layup by Napier, before a 3-pointer on the other end by Gibbs cut the lead to five with 31 seconds left.

Four free throws by Napier and Lamb sealed the win.

"When I looked on the sidelines, (Calhoun) would pump me up," Napier said. "There is just something about him — he just brings that energy."

Connecticut jumped on Pittsburgh early, going up 8-2 off the tip and opening the 14-point halftime lead.

Calhoun spent much of the first half on the bench, occasionally pacing the sidelines or taking issue with the referees.

But by the time Pitt had cut the deficit to five with just over 11 minutes left, the Hall of Fame coach was back on his feet, his tie loosened, screaming encouragement and yelling when the Huskies failed to get out to defend the 3-point line.

A jump shot by Gibbs made it 48-45 with 10 minutes left and a 3-point play by Moore tied the game at 48 with 9:20 left. UConn went back up by six, before Moore tied it again with a jumper with 4 minutes left.

The Huskies closed the first half on a 15-4 run, scoring 12 points off nine Pittsburgh turnovers, to turn a 21-18 lead into a 36-22 halftime advantage after a 3-pointer by Shabazz Napier.

Jeremy Lamb also had 14 points for the Huskies. Ashton Gibbs and Lamar Patterson each had 12 for Pittsburgh.

Pitt shot 63 percent from the field in the second half after being held to 31 percent before intermission.

"I thought for a stretch there we were about as good as we've been all year long," said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon. "We've shown stretches for a good amount of time, but not quite long enough."

This was the first time the two schools have met without either of them being ranked in 15 years.

Connecticut needed the win to improve its NCAA tournament resume. The Huskies had lost nine of their past 12 games and this was just their sixth win since Jan. 1. But the Huskies came in with an RPI ranking of 36, and played what many experts said was the toughest schedule in the nation.

Calhoun received a standing ovation when he walked on the floor and another rousing ovation as he was introduced to the crowd.

The Hall of Fame Coach took his medical leave on Feb. 3 and missed the Huskies' last eight games because of the effects of spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spine, normally associated with aging and sometimes with arthritis.

He underwent a two-hour surgery Monday in New York involved removing a large disk fragment that had been pressing on a spinal nerve. The surgeons decompressed the area around the nerve.

"He was fresh out of surgery and still to come and coach us and give it his all meant a lot, so we just wanted to play as hard as we could for him," Lamb said.

The team went 3-5 in Calhoun's absence, and is 5-6 this season without the Hall of Fame head coach this season. He missed the team's first three conference games while serving an NCAA suspension.

Calhoun now has 871 career wins, sixth on the career list and just five behind Adolph Rupp.

Pitt had won four of the last five meetings with Connecticut, but the teams had not played since last year's 76-74 Uconn win in the Big East tournament.

The two teams have combined for 12 Big East regular season or tournament championships ithe past decade.