VIENTIANE: Southeast Asian leaders will hold summit talks Thursday (Oct 10) with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, with the disputed South China Sea on the agenda after months of escalating clashes between Beijing's vessels and Philippine and Vietnamese fishermen.

Southeast Asian leaders met in Laos on Wednesday for a summit expected to seek ways address the worsening civil war in Myanmar, with Thailand calling for heightened engagement ahead of a planned election by the country's embattled military rulers.

Southeast Asian leaders met in Laos on Wednesday for a summit expected to find ways of tackling a worsening civil war in Myanmar, with Thailand set to propose a new path for a political solution after a regional peace effort made scant progress.

Southeast Asian leaders are meeting at an annual forum that will focus on the civil war in Myanmar and territorial tensions in the South China Sea, two challenges that have long tested the bloc’s cred

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is holding is annual leaders' summit in Laos this year. The world leaders will also hold talks with a representative of Myanmar's junta to try and negotiate a solution to the country's civil war.