John McCain is known for his work to restore diplomatic relations with the East.
John Sidney McCain III ( born August 29 , 1936 ) is an American politician who currently serves as the senior United States Senator from Arizona . He is also known for his work in the 1990s to restore diplomatic relations with Vietnam , and for his belief that the Iraq War should have been fought to a successful conclusion . Vietnam ( ˌ ; [ vîət nāːm ] ) , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam ( SRV ; , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia . With an estimated 92.7 million inhabitants , it is the world 's 14th-most-populous country , and the ninth-most-populous Asian country . Vietnam is bordered by China to the north , Laos to the northwest , Cambodia to the southwest , Thailand across the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest , and the Philippines , Malaysia and Indonesia across the South China Sea to the east and southeast .