Nationalism is the biggest challenge to the growth of regional companies in Southeast Asia, AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes said. Fernandes said having home-grown Southeast Asian companies can help the region compete globally. Nationalism remains the reason why ASEAN has so far failed to live up to peoples’ expectations – even if those expectations were low to begin with – and why any concept of a regional identity is still nascent, writes David Hutt for the Diplomat. Australian National University Emeritus Professor Peter Drysdale pointed out that ASEAN should continue its ‘open regionalism’ strategy in dealing with the protectionist stance adopted by the industrial world, particularly the US and Europe.