The prime minister says the long-running conflict in Myanmar has impacted peace and security across the region.

Southeast Asian foreign ministers are gathering for their first meeting this year under the regional bloc’s new chair, Malaysia, seeking a breakthrough over Myanmar’s drawn-out civil war and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Malaysia’s chairmanship of ASEAN offers hope for mitigating the longstanding crisis in Myanmar, UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar, Julie Bishop, said. In her address, during an ASEAN Plenary entitled “Even Stronger Together” at the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2025 on Wednesday,

The bloc says that any poll must be “inclusive,” but it has limited power to deter the junta from its election plans.

While committed to regional issues, Malaysia is tempering expectations for immediate solutions, acknowledging the complexity of both crises.

(Reuters) - Foreign ministers of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN at a weekend retreat upheld their decision to bar Myanmar’s ruling generals from their summits and limit the country's participation to a non-political level, said Malaysia who currently holds the chairmanship on Monday.

ASEAN's fifth envoy to Myanmar, Tan Sri Othman Hashim, appointed during the bloc's meeting of foreign ministers.

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) discussed developments in the South China Sea (SCS), Myanmar and the Middle East during a retreat in Langkawi, Malaysia on Sunday.

Southeast Asian foreign ministers hold a closed-doors retreat in Malaysia on Sunday, as the country hosts its first meeting as chair of the regional bloc ASEAN amid an intensifying civil war in Myanmar and confrontations in the South China Sea.

LANGKAWI, Malaysia (Reuters) - Malaysia's has appointed diplomat Othman Hashim as the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN's special envoy on the crisis in army-ruled Myanmar, its foreign minister said on Sunday.

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have discussed the situation in Myanmar where fighting continues after a military coup erupted four years ago. The ASEAN plans to send a special envoy to Myanmar to call for the immediate cessation of violence.