Myanmar's junta on Friday slammed a decision by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to engage with opposition groups to seek ways to quell the country's bloody crisis.

"Myanmar strongly objects to and condemns the attempts by ASEAN member states to engage with those unlawful and terrorist organisations through any means and forms," the junta's foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.

The Myanmar crisis dominated the first day of the ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh, from which the junta has been excluded over its failure to open talks with its opponents since seizing power in a coup last year.

Since the putsch, Myanmar has spiralled into bloody conflict in which thousands have died.

In a 15-point statement thrashed out over two days of difficult talks among ASEAN foreign ministers -- with the exception of Myanmar's -- the bloc agreed to "engage all stakeholders soon".

This will likely involve meeting representatives of Myanmar's National Unity Government (NUG), a self-declared parallel body dominated by former lawmakers from Aung San Suu Kyi's ousted party.

The NUG considers itself the country's legitimate government but the junta regards its members as "terrorists."

The junta also slammed its exclusion from the summit as "one-sided and malicious".

AFP