Thayer Consultancy Background Brief:

ABN # 65 648 097 123

Carlyle A. Thayer
Senator John McCain and
Vietnam
August 27, 2020

This week marks the second anniversary of the death of Senator John McCain and the
25th anniversary of U.S.-Vietnam relations. We are preparing a report about the late
Senator and his contribution to bilateral relations. We request your reflections on the
following:
Q1. Why does John McCain still remain one of the biggest symbols in the normalization
of relations between Vietnam and the U.S.?
ANSWER: Senator John McCain remains one of the major symbols in the normalisation
of relations between the United States and Vietnam for three major reasons. First, he
was a prisoner of war from 1967 and 1973, yet he showed no rancour against his
captors or the Vietnamese government.
Second, once he was elected to the U.S. Congress, first as a Representative and then
as a Senator for the Republican Party, he worked in a bipartisan fashion with
representatives of the Democratic Party, such as Senator John Kerry. It is notable that
when President Bill Clinton announced the normalisation of relations with Vietnam in
July 1995, Senator John McCain stood by his side.
Third, he regularly visited Vietnam on numerous occasions and became prominent as
an advocate of reconciliation. Senator McCain was able to share his experiences with
the American people as well as the establishment elite.
Q2. What could motivate him to do so much to normalize and build up the relations
between the two countries?
ANSWER: Two major factors motivated John McCain. First, John McCain was
humanitarian. He spent long years as a prisoner of war that gave him time for
introspection. Like other American veterans – John Kerry, Chuck Hagel and Pete
Peterson – he came to the view that Vietnam was a place not a war. He empathised
with the Vietnamese people as well as American veterans and advocated
reconciliation.
Second was his patriotism. He felt that the United States as a great power should put
the Vietnam War behind itself, and as a matter of national interest assist Vietnam to
develop and make a contribution to stability and development in Southeast Asia,
especially after Vietnam became a member of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN). It was in America’s national interest to see ASEAN succeed.
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Q3. How did the John McCain-John Kerry partnertship during this process help to
change the way Americans thought about Vietnam and the Vietnam war?
ANSWER: The United States was bitterly divided during the Vietnam War. After the
war ended, U.S.-Vietnam relations was held hostage by a powerful lobby group that
demanded Vietnam provide a full accounting for American Prisoners of War (POWs)
and Missing in Action (MIAs). Senators John McCain and John Kerry both had
credibility as Vietnam War veterans and were able to turn American policy into a
positive direction moving from post-war reconciliation to cooperation. Senator
McCain, a Republican, was able to lend his prestige and support to Democratic
Presidents, Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama. For example, Senator McCain spoke on
the floor of the Senate in favour of the Bilateral Trade Agreement between the United
States and Vietnam.

Suggested citation: Carlyle A. Thayer, “Senator John McCain and Vietnam,” Thayer
Consultancy Background Brief, August 27, 2020. All background briefs are posted on
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Thayer Consultancy provides political analysis of current regional security issues and
other research support to selected clients. Thayer Consultancy was officially
registered as a small business in Australia in 2002.