Despite Asean’s call to prioritise peace over a sham election, Myanmar’s military rulers appear bent on clinging to power no matter the cost.

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 has appointed a new ASEAN special envoy to Myanmar to try and implement the regional bloc’s stalled peace plan for the war-torn country.

After three years of failed diplomacy, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has upped the ante and warned the military junta in Myanmar to end the civil war and allow the free flow of much-needed humanitarian aid.

Southeast Asian foreign ministers told Myanmar's junta to prioritise a ceasefire in its civil war over fresh elections during a meeting in Malaysia on Sunday.

LANGKAWI, Malaysia - Myanmar’s military government was on Jan 19 told by Asean foreign ministers to prioritise an end to the fighting in its country over the holding of an election this year, the bloc’s chair Malaysia said.

LANGKAWI: Asean foreign ministers have stressed to Myanmar that it is more important to bring about peace in the country rather than hold a national election, says Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

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

ASEAN secretary-general Kao Kim Hourn said some of the foreign ministers on Jan. 19 also "called for the release of Madam Aung San Suu Kyi," the prominent pro-democracy figure who has been detained since the 2021 coup.

Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar—are planning to introduce a unified visa system that will significantly simplify travel for tourists.

The regional bloc told a junta representative at a meeting that a poll is “not a priority at the moment," Malaysia’s foreign minister said.