Myanmar has been in turmoil since 2021 when its military overthrew the government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

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.

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.

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. But we told them that election is not a priority at the moment,

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

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.

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.

BANGKOK: A Myanmar junta air strike killed 28 people, including children, and wounded 25 at a temporary detention area in western Rakhine state, an ethnic minority armed group said on Sunday.

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.

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