Clinton's first tour of duty is Asia

The US State Department on Thursday said the first foreign destination of Secretary of State Hilary Clinton will be Asia, and the tour will start with Japan and end in China.

The freshly sworn in Clinton will spend three days in Japan between Feb 16 and 18, and three days in China between Feb 20 and 22. She will also visit South Korea and Indonesia.

"The secretary felt that going to Asia would send a tremendous signal to Asia and others in the world of the importance of Asia, particularly, to our foreign policy agenda," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said in Washington.