Southeast Asian foreign ministers met 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 gathered Sunday 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.

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.

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 Association of Southeast Asian Nations called on the warring sides in member nation Myanmar to stop the fighting and told the junta's representative to allow unhindered humanitarian access, said Malaysia's foreign minister as the country takes over chairing ASEAN this year.