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.

Can Anwar Ibrahim's diplomatic finesse help Malaysia steer Asean through the storm of rising trade tensions and regional crises? Malaysia takes the helm of Asean at a time of see-sawing threats and opportunities,

LANGKAWI, Malaysia (Reuters) - The regional bloc ASEAN and China should make headway on a protracted code of conduct for the South China Sea by tackling thorny "milestone issues", including its scope and if it can be legally binding, the Philippines' top diplomat said on Saturday.

LANGKAWI: Beijing’s proposal to address online scams and gambling in the region together with Asean countries, will be discussed at the Asean Foreign Ministers Retreat (AMM) on Sunday (Jan 19), says Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan.

a region where China's influence has been rapidly growing and Beijing has become increasingly assertive in pressing territorial claims. ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei are locked in maritime disputes with China over its claims ...

China's expansive claims overlaps with the EEZs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The disputed waterway is a strategic shipping route through which about $3 trillion of annual commerce moves.

Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru is visiting Malaysia and Indonesia on his first bilateral state visit since taking office.

At a Malaysia conference, ministers of ASEAN nations pledged to step up the fight against illegal online gambling and cyber-crime.

Beijing on Wednesday said it "firmly opposes" a US move to effectively bar Chinese technology from smart cars in the American market, saying alleged risks to national security were "without any factual basis".

Sen. Tammy Duckworth put Pete Hegseth’s foreign policy chops to the test during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday as President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon. The Illinois

Chinese vice president Han Zheng met with tech tycoon Elon Musk and urged US firms to “seize the opportunity” to deepen economic ties with China, Beijing’s state media said Monday.

Hegseth responded at the heated Senate confirmation hearing that he couldn’t tell Duckworth the exact number of ASEAN nations, but that “I know we have allies in South Korea and Japan in AUKUS (a pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S.) with Australia.”