In talks: US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis (left) speaks with Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in Jakarta on Monday.(JP/Dhoni Setiawan)

United States Secretary of Defense James Mattis arrived in Indonesia on Monday evening for a three-day visit to discuss a possible upgrade of regional defense cooperation in Southeast Asia.

“We share the Pacific — it’s an ocean named for peace — we would like to see it remain peaceful, so all the nations that use it and live here are prosperous,” Mattis said beforehand, as reported by Agence France-Presse.