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.

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.

By Danial Azhar LANGKAWI, Malaysia (Reuters) -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,

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

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.

LANGKAWI: The ongoing Myanmar crisis and tensions in the South China Sea will feature in the discussions at the Asean Foreign Ministers' Retreat here during the weekend, says Malaysian Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin.

Myanmar remains one of the region’s most pressing challenges, demanding Asean’s collective attention and decisive action to uphold its founding principles of democracy, human rights, constitutional government and regional stability, as enshrined in its charter.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.