(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 nations told Myanmar’s military government on Sunday its plan to hold an election amid an escalating civil war should not be its

Malaysia is committed to addressing regional issues, but expectations on Myanmar and the advancing of talks on a code of conduct between the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and China for the South China Sea should be tempered,

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.

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

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

LANGKAWI, Malaysia (Reuters) - Malaysia's has appointed diplomat Othman Hashim as the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN's special envoy on the crisis in army-ruled Myanmar, its foreign minister said on Sunday.

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.

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

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 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.