A half-century after the Tet offensive punctured American hopes of victory in Vietnam, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis is visiting the former enemy in search of a different kind of win: incremental progress as partners in a part of the world the Pentagon has identified as vital for the United States to compete with China and Russia.
Mattis, a retired general who entered the Marine Corps during Vietnam but did not serve there, on Monday arrived in Indonesia, where he’ll spend two days before…