Rice's six-nation trip will be rich in sensitive issues, including Indian-Pakistani relations, Afghanistan's reconstruction and the war on terrorism.

The chief US diplomat leaves Washington for New Delhi on Monday, arriving late Tuesday before heading to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Japan, South Korea and China. She returns to Washington March 21.

Rice, who has already traveled to Europe and the Middle East, will set the tone for President George W. Bush's relations with Asia in his second and final four-year term in office, which started in January.

North Korea will be at the heart of her meetings in Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing, which along with Moscow, Washington and Pyongyang are part of the six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's atomic weapons drive.

Three rounds of talks have taken place since 2003 in Beijing. But North Korea has refused to participate in a new round of talks and has demanded an apology from Washington after Rice described the Stalinist regime as an "outpost of tyranny."

Rice has refused to take back her statement.

Rice said Sunday that China, which looms large in her agenda, is a "rising force in international politics, and there are both healthy aspects and troubling aspects to that."

"What we have to do is to engage in policies that strengthen the chances that China will be a constructive force, not a destructive force," Rice told ABC television's "This Week."

She praised Washington's cooperation with Beijing on the war on terror and on North Korea, but she expressed concern over a potential war between China and Taiwan, which has been ruled separately since the end of a civil war in

She criticized plans by China to pass an "anti-secession" law giving the military the legal basis for attacking Taiwan if it moves towards independence.

"Clearly it raises tensions. And it's not necessary or a good thing to raise tensions," Rice said.

In New Dehli and Islamabad, Rice is expected to discuss the rapprochement between Indian and Pakistan and the disputed region of Kashmir.

Washington supports a global dialogue process launched last year between the two nuclear powers.

US-Indian relations have improved in recent years, while Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has been an ally in Bush's war on terrorism.

Rice will also head to Kabul to meet with President Hamid Karzai and express support for Afghanistan's democratic transition and reconstruction.

Aid to Afghanistan will be a topic in her talks in Japan and South Korea, two major international donors. Washington's top allies in Asia are inevitable stops in her visit, and the two nations have contributed troops to Iraq.

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