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.

LANGKAWI, Jan 19 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan on Saturday reaffirmed that ASEAN will continue to drive its own path forward amid intensifying superpower competition in the region. With a highly geo-strategic position, cultural versatility, and economic weight, he said Southeast Asia holds massive potential.

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.

Malaysia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan is set to chair the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat (AMM Retreat) on Sunday (Jan 19) in Langkawi, Kedah. The AMM Retreat is the first scheduled meeting in the annual ASEAN calendar at the ministerial level under Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship for 2025.

Mohamad said Hashim would visit Myanmar “soon” to convince all sides in Myanmar to implement ASEAN’s five-point peace plan, which has made no progress since it was unveiled months after the coup. Hasan said the meeting also discussed the likely ...

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

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

Southeast Asian nations told Myanmar's military government on Sunday its plan to hold an election amid an escalating civil war should not be its priority, urging the junta to start dialogue and end hostilities immediately.

LANGKAWI: The Asean Foreign Ministers' Retreat (AMM), set to take place on Saturday, will set the tone of Malaysia’s Asean Chairmanship throughout the year.

ASEAN has urged Myanmar's military government to prioritize ceasing hostilities and initiating dialogue over organizing elections amid ongoing civil war. Malaysia's foreign minister emphasized the need for unrestricted humanitarian access and stressed adherence to ASEAN's peace plan.

Malaysia’s Foreign Minister, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, has safely arrived in Langkawi Friday (Jan 17) for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers (AMM) Retreat, which is set to take place on Saturday.

Myanmar's military government was on Sunday told by ASEAN foreign ministers to prioritize an end to the fighting in its country over the holding of an election this year, the bloc's chair Malaysia said.