Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have repeated their call for an immediate halt to fighting in Myanmar. But they failed to present specific measures to achieve the cessation.

The ASEAN ministers' joint communique was released on Saturday, two days after their meeting in Laos.

Myanmar's military sent its permanent secretary of the foreign ministry to the gathering. The military has been fighting against pro-democracy forces and ethnic minority militias since it came to power in a coup in February 2021.

The communique says the ministers expressed their "deep concern over the escalation of conflicts" and the humanitarian situation in Myanmar. The document says they also "strongly condemned the continued acts of violence against civilians and public facilities."

It says the Five-Point Consensus remains the ministers' "main reference to address the political crisis in Myanmar." The consensus that called for an immediate cessation of violence in the country came during a meeting of ASEAN leaders in April 2021.

The communique also refers to the situation in the South China Sea where the Philippines, China and other parties have overlapping territorial claims.

The document says some ministers expressed concerns over serious incidents in the waters, including actions that put the safety of people at risk.

The Philippines had asked that the communique incorporate more concrete descriptions of coercive activities by Beijing in the South China Sea.