Before and during the Second World War, the southeast region of Asia suffered the economic and political consequences of repeated colonialism, both European and Japanese. At the end of the war, it confronted problems of nation-building, the ravages of poverty and economic backwardness, and the pressure to align with one great power or another during the Cold War. This was a recipe for conflict, which the countries of Southeast Asia could ill afford. Efforts at Asian and Third World unity, such as the Bandung Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement, were ineffective in establishing the conventions for informal cooperation and interaction.

ASEAN was formed as a result of signing which declaration?

Bangkok

ASEAN was established in 1967 by five countries of this region — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand — by signing the Bangkok Declaration.