ASEAN leaders struggle for answers to Myanmar crisis

The escalating crisis in Myanmar was set to dominate summit talks  between Southeast Asian leaders struggling to find a way to calm the bloodshed in the junta-ruled country.

Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc will discuss ways to implement a peace plan agreed with Myanmar last year which the junta has so far ignored.

Myanmar has spiralled into bloody conflict since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government in February last year, with thousands killed in clashes since.

There is growing frustration among the other nine ASEAN countries at the generals' foot-dragging on the so-called "five-point consensus" but so far no concrete plan to enforce it.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr of the Philippines called for "patience" in resolving the crisis at talks with Cambodian premier Hun Sen, the summit host.

ASEAN has blocked junta chief Min Aung Hlaing from attending the gathering in Phnom Penh, which US President Joe Biden will join.

Biden will then go on to hold a high-stakes meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia.

China, ASEAN's biggest trading partner, has historically had good ties with the Myanmar junta, though it has voiced some unease at the ongoing chaos in the country.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will hold talks with ASEAN leaders, before joining Biden and other regional leaders for an East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh.