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.

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.

(Reuters) - Foreign ministers of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN at a weekend retreat upheld their decision to bar Myanmar’s ruling generals from their summits and limit the country's participation to a non-political level, said Malaysia who currently holds the chairmanship on Monday.

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

While committed to regional issues, Malaysia is tempering expectations for immediate solutions, acknowledging the complexity of both crises.

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have discussed the situation in Myanmar where fighting continues after a military coup erupted four years ago. The ASEAN plans to send a special envoy to Myanmar to call for the immediate cessation of violence.

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.

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.

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.

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