Mr McCain (left) is the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee and enjoys considerable influence on foreign policy issues. -- PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - REPUBLICAN US Senator John McCain leaves Washington on Friday on a week-long trip to Asia that will take him to Hong Kong, Hanoi, Beijing and Tokyo, his office said on Monday.
The former US Navy pilot, whom President Barack Obama defeated to win the White House in 2008, spent roughly five years as a prisoner of war after being shot down over Vietnam in 1967.
Mr McCain, 72, is the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee and enjoys considerable influence on foreign policy issues.
Details of the trip were not immediately available, but the Arizona senator, planned to hold several public events.
On his online Twitter feed, Mr McCain revealed Monday that he had met with China's ambassador to the United States in preparation for the trip. -- AFP
