Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan called for the extension and expansion of a ceasefire in Myanmar on Sunday during an ASEAN meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

The ceasefire was initially declared following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in March 2025 that resulted in over 3,300 deaths, 4,500 injuries, and 220 missing.

ASEAN has faced challenges in mediating the conflict since the military coup that began Myanmar’s civil war in February 2021. The bloc’s Five-Point Consensus, a peace plan, has seen limited progress, leading to the exclusion of Myanmar’s military leaders from ASEAN meetings.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has engaged in separate dialogues with the junta and parallel National Unity Government (NUG), signaling potential for direct talks. However, the NUG’s conditions for negotiations, including the establishment of a democratic federal union and the military’s withdrawal from politics, remain contentious.

The ceasefire has been extended before, although the United Nations (UN) and conflict monitors have reported ongoing military operations, including airstrikes by the junta. According to witnesses, a military air attack on a school in the earthquake’s epicenter region, Sagaing, killed 22 people, 20 of whom were children, in mid-May.

The conflict has led to significant regional implications, including refugee influxes and increased transnational crime.

Myanmar’s military government plans to hold an election later this year, although ASEAN urged the government to prioritize peace before any polls occur. Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan stated in a news conference following an ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat, “[w]e told [Myanmar that] the election is not our priority. Our priority is to stop the violence.”

The association appointed Tan Sri Othman Hashim as ASEAN special envoy on Myanmar for 2025, to bolster peace efforts and address the humanitarian crisis.