The president of East Timor told The Associated Press on Monday that he would be willing to intercede personally to try and break the impasse in the region’s most challenging problem — Myanmar’s raging civil war,

Dili and Manila could work together in trade, infrastructure development, conservation and the maritime Code of Conduct, analysts say.

East Timor had weak infrastructure, limited administrative capacity that made it struggle to send diplomats to ASEAN meetings and a poor economy. Some nations also worried that adding East Timor would slow down the bloc's progress.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Monday urged Asia-Pacific leaders to choose dialogue over coercion and cooperation over confrontation, as he opened the East Asia summit at a time of sharpening rivalry between the United States and China.