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.
The retreat on the idyllic northern resort island of Langkawi was the first major meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations hosted by Malaysia. Officials said it aims to chart the bloc’s direction for the year as it tries to resolve Myanmar's deadly four-year crisis and tensions over China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea.
