who helped british troops defend malaya and singapore
Battle of Singapore The battle resulted in the Japanese capture of Singapore and the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history.[6] About 80,000 British, Indian and Australian troops became prisoners of war, joining 50,000 taken by the Japanese in the earlier Malayan Campaign. The British prime minister, Winston Churchill, called it the "worst disaster" in British military history.[7]
Association of Southeast Asian Nations In 1984, Brunei became ASEAN's sixth member[54] and on 28 July 1995, Vietnam joined as the seventh member.[55] Laos and Myanmar (Burma) joined two years later on 23 July 1997.[56] Cambodia was to have joined at the same time as Laos and Burma, but its entry was delayed due to the country's internal political struggle. It later joined on 30 April 1999, following the stabilization of its government.[56][57]