Background Briefing:

Thayer Consultancy
ABN # 65 648 097 123 Senator John McCain and His
Vietnam Legacy
Carlyle A. Thayer
August 26,2018

Senator John McCain has passed away. We request your assessment of his legacy
within the context of relations between the United States and Vietnam.
Q1. What are Senator McCain's key contributions to Vietnam-U.S. relation? ls there
any difference in his approach compared to John Kerry and other American Vietnam
War veterans?
ANSWER: Most of the positive developments in normalising and developing relations
between Vietnam and the United States took place under Democratic Party
Administrations - Jimmy Carter (L977-8L), Bill Clinton (1993-2001) and Barack
Obama (2009-17).
Reconciliation with Vietnam was promoted by a group of Vietnam War veterans such
as John Kerry, John McCain, Chuck Hagel and Pete Peterson. They all shared a
conviction that Vietnam and the United States should overcome their differences
and put the war behind them.
John McCain's key contribution was his promotion of bipartisanship in relations with
Vietnam, that is, as a Republican McCain worked with Democrats in the U.5.
Congress to advance relations with Vietnam. Senator McCain supported engaging
with Vietnam across the full spectrum of relations - economic, political, diplomatic,
and defence and security.
Senator McCain's special role was illustrated when President Clinton announced the
normalisation of relations in July 1995. Senator McCain stood next to Clinton at this
historic moment. ln February this year, Vietnam's Ambassador to the United States,
Le Cong Phung, visited Senator McCain in his home state of Arizona to commend his
role in developing relations between Vietnam and the United States.
Q2. How did the Vietnam War shape McCain's personality and his later political
career?
ANSWER: Senator McCain, the son of a four star Navy admiral and a graduate of the
U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, was a patriot who put service to his country at the
top of his priorities. As a career military officer he volunteered to fight in Vietnam to
serve his country. As a prisoner of war from October 1967 until March 1973 he
endured hardship and owed his life to the care his fellow prisoners gave him. He
gave life-long support for the men and women in the U.S. armed forces as Chairman
of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
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When his father was appointed commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, John
McCain was asked by Vietnamese authorities if he wanted to be released early.
McCain declined because of the prisoners' honour code that those held the longest
should be released first.
After his release McCain continued to serve in the military for eight more years
including appointment as a liaison officer to the U.S. Congress. As a result, he
decided to serve his country as a politician. He was first elected a member of the
House of Representatives in 1982 and served two terms. Then he was elected
Senator in 1987 and served until his death.
As a member of Congress McCain worked effectively with his Democratic Party
counterparts to advance policies that they shared in common, including engaging
with Vietnam. He visited Vietnam on many occasions and never showed any
bitterness towards his former enemy.

Q3. Ageneration of U.S. Vietnam Warveteranswho have been active in politics are
passing from the scene. How will U.S.-Vietnam relations be affected when Hagel,
Kerry and others pass away?
ANSWER: Secretary Kerry, Secretary Hagel and Senator McCain, allveterans of the
Vietnam War, made indelible contributions to U.S.-Vietnam relations that will
endure into the future.
Vietnam and the United States now exchange high-level visits between their most
senior leaders. The United States has received and acknowledged the special role of
the Secretary General of the Vietnam Communist Party. Both sides exchange visits
by defence ministers and other senior military leaders. The U.S. no longer imposes
an arms embargo on Vietnam.
ln other words, under the leadership of these Vietnam War veterans a firm
foundation has been laid for the future as illustrated by the United States-Vietnam
Comprehensive Partnership signed by President Obama and subsequently endorsed
by President Trump.

Suggested citation: Carlyle A. Thayer, "Senator John McCain and His Vietnam
Legacy," Thoyer Consultancy Background Brief, August 26, 2018. All background
briefs are posted on Scribd.com (search for Thayer). To remove yourself from the
mailing list type, UNSUBSCRIBE in the Subject heading and hit the Reply key.
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 in2002.
 Thayer Consultancy Background Briefing:
ABN # 65 648 097 123
Senator John McCain's Legacy
on Vietnam-fJ.S. Relations

Carlyle A. Thayer
August 28,2018

Ql. Do you think Senator John McCain's life an allegory of the complex Vietnam-U.S.
relationship - an opponent who turned into a friend?
ANSWER: John McCain's life mirrored that of a small band of brothers, Vietnam
veterans like John Kerry, Chuck Hagel and Pete Peterson. Whlle each person had a
different view on the rights and wrongs of America's intervention in Vietnam, they
all shared a view that there should be reconciliation between the two former
enemies. Vietnam is a place not a war was their common refrain.
McCain, who was captured in North Vietnam in October !967, was released from
prison i in March 1973 following the Paris Peace Agreements. He experienced the
torturous twenty-two year period that it took to normalize relations between the
two countries.
It was Democrat Administrations under Bill Clinton and Barack Obama that really
moved the bilateral relationship forward from normalization to a comprehensive
partnership. John McCain supported this process. He stood beside President Bill
Clinton in July 1995 when the president announced the normalization of diplomatic
relations. McCain also was a frequent visitor to Vietnam.

Q2. Why do the Vietnamese people respect him? Even Vietnamese leaders give him
special respect despite his criticism of Vietnam's poor human right record?
ANSWER: During the war Vietnam's official line was to draw a distinction between
the "peace-loving American people" and the warmongers in the White House. This
provided a basis for judging McCain after the war ended.
McCain served in the military until 1981 and entered politics the following year. He
was elected to the House of Representatives during the Reagan Administration. After
serving two terms in 1987 he was elected to the Senate for five terms and became a
prominent public official.
Senator McCain worked in a bipartisan manner with Senator John Kerry on policy
towards Vietnam. McCain supported Kerry when he became Secretary of State. ln
October 2001 Senator McCain supported the United States-Vietnam Bilateral Trade
Agreement in a speech on the floor of the Senate.
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ln more recent years he supported Vietnam's right to export catfish (tra) to the
United States.
Senator McCain's strong support for reconciliation and engagement with Vietnam,
his high profile in America, and his lack of bitterness about his captivity endeared
him to the Vietnamese public.

He made numerous visits to Vietnam and publicly supported stronger economic,

political, diplomatic, and defence and security relations. He visited the Hoa Lo prison
several times and treated his former captors with equanimity. Senator McCain rarely
criticized Vietnam for his treatment as a prisoner of war; he once said that what
made him angry about his period in captivity was the way Vietnam treated the other
prisoners.

John McCain also spoke out on human rights in Vietnam and urged a "partnership of
values," tolerance of dissent, political freedom, human rights and rule by consent.
While this may not have been music to the ears of Vietnam's leaders, McCain
presented his critique as an opportunity not as a hectoring condemnation.

Q3. Do you think reconciliation with Vietnam and America is going well?
ANSWER: Historically, Vietnam-United States relations advanced under Democratic
Administrations, Bill Clinton (1993-2001) and Barack Obama |12009-2017l,.
Surprisingly bilateral relations have developed well under the Trump Administration
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was the first government leader from Southeast
Asia to be received by President Trump in the White House. The two leaders
reaffirmed their commitment to the Comprehensive Partnership negotiated by the
Obama Administration. President Trump not only attended the APEC leaders'
summit meeting in Da Nang but also paid an official visit to Hanoi immediately after.
The Trump Administration has given Vietnam high-level attention. Both the
Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, and the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, have
visited Hanoi. Vietnam also received the first visit by an American aircraft carrier, the
IJSS CorlVinson, since the Vietnam War. Human rights have not figured prominently
as an impediment to bilateral relations under Trump. Vietnam wisely released
Vietnamese-American student William Nguyen from prison after a month.
The major irritants in U.S.-Vietnam bilateral relations relate to economic issues such
as the export of Vietnamese catfish and shrimp, Vietnam's status as a non-market
economy, and Trump's tariffs on Vietnamese steel. These are long-standing issues
that can be resolved through quiet diplomacy.

Suggested citation: Carlyle A. Thayer, "Senator John McCain's Legacy on Vietnam-

U.S. Relations," Thayer Consultoncy Background Brief, August 28, 2078. All
background briefs are posted on Scribd.com (search for Thayer). To remove yourself
from the mailing list type, UNSUBSCRIBE in the Subject heading and hit the Reply
key.
 J

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 buslness in Australia in 2002.