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.

Beijing has offered closer security cooperation with Southeast Asian countries to combat scam syndicates operated by Chinese nationals in the region.

This photo taken on Jan. 19, 2025 shows a scene of a press conference after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting in Langkawi, Malaysia. The meeting was held here on Sunday. (Xinhua/Cheng Yiheng)

LANGKAWI: Asean nations will closely cooperate with China to combat transnational crime, including online scam syndicates, announced Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan.

LANGKAWI, Jan 19 (Bernama) -- ASEAN Foreign Ministers welcomed the progress made in the negotiations on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea and emphasised the importance of sustaining momentum to expedite the process.

Talks between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China to crack down on online scams need detail as the proposal from Beijing was still in an early stage, Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said on Saturday.

he ongoing Myanmar crisis and tensions in the South China Sea will feature in the discussions at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat in Langkawi, Malaysia over the weekend, says Malaysian Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin.

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,

These are the key takeaways from the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Retreat held over two days from Jan 18 at the Langkawi International Convention Centre. Diplomats and delegates to the retreat, which was also the first ministerial meeting under Malaysia’s chairmanship,

Myanmar remains one of the region’s most pressing challenges, demanding ASEAN’s collective attention and decisive action to uphold its founding principles of democracy, human rights, constitutional government and regional stability, as enshrined in its charter.

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.