REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DEPOK -- Indonesia can propose to delay the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), originally scheduled for December 31, 2015, due to a fundamental change in circumstances, an international law expert said.

"It is necessary to know that postponing does not mean terminating or disbanding the idea of establishing the AEC. The idea of establishing the AEC is difficult to scrap as it has been put in the ASEAN Charter," Hikmahanto Juwana of University of Indonesia (UI) said in his scientific oration, themed "AEC: Does It Benefit Indonesia?" on Wednesday.

Admittedly, no provisions for postponing the AEC were found in the document agreed upon by ASEAN members. If the postponement is not provided for, then will it be allowed? Of course, academically, that is debatable, he said.

He said the fundamental change in circumstances included several economic crises and reforms in many aspects of life in the country.

Because of the fundamental changes, the situation in Indonesia is not the same as it was before the 1998 crisis, he said.

Therefore, if AEC is implemented according to the December 31, 2015 deadline, no wonder it will not benefit Indonesia, he said.

Indonesia may benefit from the AEC if it is implemented in 2020, he said.

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