— Foreign ministers from Southeast Asia began a meeting on Thursday to tackle key issues in the region, including tensions in the South China Sea, an escalating civil war in Myanmar and a border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. The foreign ministers’ retreat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations aims to set the bloc’s agenda for the year under the chairmanship of the Philippines. Theresa Lazaro told her ASEAN counterparts that the global security environment has become more “challenging” and “more complex and interconnected”. The Philippines recently hosted a dialogue among opponents of Myanmar’s ruling junta in a bid to facilitate dialogue and humanitarian aid. Manila is also aiming this year to finish a long-delayed code of conduct for the South China Sea, where tensions have escalated over the past three years.