Southeast Asian leaders called on Sunday for swift agreement on a code of conduct for the South China Sea based on international law, while demanding an immediate halt to fighting in Myanmar and inclusive peace talks to end its civil war.

A wide gap continues to separate the bloc’s Five-Point Consensus peace plan with the aims and intentions of Myanmar’s primary belligerents.

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.

The sea, where $US3 ($A4.4) trillion worth of trade passes annually, was a major point of contention at the ASEAN meetings, particularly with Russia and China objecting to a reference to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a US official said.

Southeast Asian leaders called on Sunday for swift agreement on a code of conduct for the South China Sea based on international law, while demanding an immediate halt to fighting in Myanmar and inclusive peace talks to end its civil war.

Myanmar's permanent secretary of foreign affairs, Aung Kyaw Moe, far left, joins other high-ranking officials from ASEAN member nations at the organization's summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Oct. 8. 2024.

A key meeting took place during the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Laos, where Southeast Asian countries, part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), tried to finalize a consensus statement.