The civilizational method of study of history is the most prevalent in modern science. Beginning from A. Toynbee, who thought that the study of civilizations was "the field of historical study perceived by mind", this method has been used for describing civilizations. At the same time it is necessary to note that it referred to the already formed civilizations. The novelty of this study is in that the author is using this method for the understanding of events connected with the formation of a new civilization uniting the countries of South-East Asia. The author considers the questions of civilizational construction, the interdependence between this process and the globalization and also the obstacles on the road towards the formation of a regional identity. The study goes along the most important directions which are being worked out by the institutes of the Historical and Philological department of the Russian Academy of Sciences. This problem is topical for Russia, too, where today there is the task of strengthening the all-Russian identity within the framework of a country with many ethnic groups and many religions.