The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental organization comprising ten Southeast Asian countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
ASEAN has free trade agreements (FTAs) with several countries including Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand.
Among the given countries, the following are ASEAN`s free-trade partners:
Option 1: 1, 2, 4 and 6
Australia and Canada are not free trade partners of ASEAN. Although Canada has expressed its interest in negotiating an FTA with ASEAN, no agreement has been concluded yet. Australia has a bilateral FTA with ASEAN, the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA), which entered into force in 2010. The United States is not a party to any FTA with ASEAN. Therefore, Option 1 is incorrect.
Option 2: 3, 4, 5 and 6
China, India, Japan, and the United States are not all free trade partners of ASEAN. China has an FTA with ASEAN, the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), which was signed in 2002 and implemented in 2010. India and Japan have separate bilateral FTAs with ASEAN, the India-ASEAN FTA (AIFTA) and the Japan-ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Partnership (JACEP), respectively. The United States does not have an FTA with ASEAN. Therefore, Option 2 is incorrect.
Option 3: 1, 3, 4 and 5
Australia, China, India, and Japan are free trade partners of ASEAN. As mentioned earlier, Australia has an FTA with ASEAN, the AANZFTA. China, India, and Japan have their own separate bilateral FTAs with ASEAN, the ACFTA, AIFTA, and JACEP, respectively. Therefore, Option 3 is correct.
Option 4: 2, 3, 4 and 6
Canada, China, India, and the United States are not all free trade partners of ASEAN. As mentioned earlier, Canada has expressed its interest in negotiating an FTA with ASEAN but has not concluded an agreement yet. China has an FTA with ASEAN, the ACFTA. India has a separate bilateral FTA with ASEAN, the AIFTA. The United States does not have an FTA with ASEAN. Therefore, Option 4 is incorrect.
In conclusion, the correct answer is Option 3: 1, 3, 4 and 5.