( CNN ) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was heading to Asia on Thursday for a wide-ranging trip that will take her from the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean to China and Russia farther north . The State Department says the week-and-a-half-long trip is intended to emphasize a strong , long-term U.S. focus on the entire Asia-Pacific region . `` It is a very long , very diverse trip , but the concurrent themes that run through this is a strong , determined effort on the part of the United States to underscore our rebalancing towards the Asia-Pacific region , to make clear that we 're here to stay , that we are engaged on an array of issues -- strategic , political , commercial , '' a senior State Department official told reporters ahead of the trip . `` It spans not just Asia , not just Northeast Asia but Southeast Asia and , increasingly , the Pacific , '' the official said . Syrian crisis : Clinton talks contingency plans with Turkey . Clinton 's first stop will be the Cook Islands , host of this year 's Pacific Islands Forum , one of the region 's most significant political institutions . She plans to talk with leaders there about regional challenges with health issues and climate change , as well as commercial interests and problems like illegal fishing . After that , Clinton plans to head to Indonesia , which is emerging as a major player in the ASEAN , or Association of Southeast Asian Nations , regional forum , and to Beijing , where the official said a full range of U.S.-China issues will be on the table -- including developments on the Korean Peninsula and in Iran , Syria and Afghanistan . Among the other items on the Beijing agenda may be the dispute that flared earlier this month over the South China Sea . Countries like Vietnam and the Philippines lay claim to some areas of the South China Sea , but China has declared `` indisputable sovereignty '' over all of it . When the U.S. State Department earlier this month urged more Chinese diplomacy in the dispute , China blasted Washington for confounding the issue . `` I think one of the messages that we seek to carry on this trip is that it is absolutely essential that cooler heads prevail in every capital , '' the senior State Department official said . The official said the best place for dialogue on the South China Sea is between China and the ASEAN forum . Clinton : Iran 's proposal are 'non-starters ' Clinton may also have to deal with another long-running maritime dispute , this one involving a group of islands in the East China Sea claimed by China , Japan and Taiwan . Furious anti-Japan protests erupted across China this month when a Japanese group sailed to one of the disputed islets and symbolically waved Japanese flags . The State Department official said the United States is ready to play a `` steady outside role '' when it comes to such decades-long territorial disputes in Asia . After Beijing , Clinton plans a commercially focused visit to East Timor , visiting a coffee plantation to highlight the decade-old nation 's economic development . A brief visit to Brunei will follow , where Clinton plans to `` renew friendships '' while sitting down for dinner with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah . The official said Brunei has been a very helpful partner to the United States in the Middle East and with educational initiatives , and that it seeks more commercial collaboration with the United States . Closing out Clinton 's trip will be a visit to Russky Island off Vladivostok , Russia , for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum . In particular , Clinton plans to discuss intellectual property issues and hold meetings on a new Trans-Pacific Partnership , a regional trade group that came up during last year 's APEC summit in Hawaii , the official said . Japan , Canada and Mexico were among the nations that last year expressed interest in the partnership . Clinton is also expected to talk with her Russian counterpart , Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov , about issues including Syria , Iran and the Balkans , the official said . Clinton warns Sinai could turn into jihadist haven .
The trip begins in the Cook Islands for the regional Pacific Islands Forum . Hide Caption 1 of 9 Photos: Clinton will end the trip at the APEC summit in Russia . U.S. official : The trip is meant to highlight a U.S. focus on the entire region .