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 wants to know what Myanmar has in mind,” Mohamad Hasan told a news conference after a ministerial retreat on the island of Langkawi. Hasan said Myanmar – represented by a low-level official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after its ...

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.

The Myanmar military seized power in February 2021 ... But we told them that election is not a priority at the moment," Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told reporters after the meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers on the Malaysian island of Langkawi.

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

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.

ASEAN foreign ministers have advised Myanmar to give priority to ending the violence in the country than holding an election. Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said they felt that there is also an urgency for Myanmar to fulfil the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) adopted by ASEAN.

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

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.

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.

Malaysian diplomat Othman Hashim faces the weary task of engaging the junta and persuading it to abide by a Five-Point Consensus ASEAN drew up after the coup.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said Myanmar — represented by a low-level Foreign Ministry official after its junta leaders were barred from formal ASEAN meetings — briefed the ...