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The Neotethyan subduction and collision with the Asian, Indian, and Australian plates is evidenced by a giant Andean-type arc system and a remarkable Neotethyan igneous belt along the southwestern Eurasian margin. However, the southward extent, and cause, of Neotethyan subduction is poorly understood. Here, a zircon U-Pb dating and whole-rock geochemical study of two groups of Eocene (50−48 Ma) mafic intrusions from Tangse, North Sumatra, helps to unravel the Neotethyan subduction story. Group 1 consists of diabase samples, which have mid-oceanic-ridge− and arc-like geochemical affinities, with low chondrite-normalized La/Yb(cn) (∼0.6) ratios and a high measured εNd(t) value of +8.7. Such geochemical signatures indicate that the magmatic rocks were derived from a refractory depleted mantle source that was metasomatized by slab melts. Group 2 consists of gabbro-diorites, which are enriched in the large-ion lithophile elements and depleted in some high field strength elements. These samples have high La/Yb(cn) (2.9−6.6), low Nb/La(cn) (0.2−0.3), εNd(t) values of +1.1 to +5.0, and εHf(t) values of +8.8 to +15.3. Group 2 samples were produced by the melting of a depleted mantle wedge metasomatized by slab fluids. The magmatism provides evidence for the southern continuation of the Neotethyan igneous belt and tectonic system, whereby slab rollback triggered melting and upwelling in an arc−back-arc geodynamic system from South Tibet to SE Asia.

The Lincang-Inthanon tectonic belt is a major tectonic boundary within the southeastern Tibetan Plateau and Indo-China Peninsula, which are typical examples of tectonic extrusion in SE Asia. The Lincang strain zone, Lancang-Gengma fault, and Inthanon metamorphic complex make up this nearly N–S-striking tectonic belt, which separates the Baoshan–Shan Thai and Simao-Indochina terranes. New petrographic, structural, and mica 40Ar/39Ar geochronological studies were conducted to reveal their deformation styles and constrain the timing of their tectonic evolution. W–E-directed compression related to the subduction of the Paleotethyan Ocean with subsequent continental collision and sinistral ductile shearing in the early Oligocene are recorded along the Lincang strain zone. The Lancang-Gengma fault zone switched from sinistral shearing to dextral motion in the late Cenozoic and shows a deformation history similar to that of the parallel Red River fault. The Inthanon metamorphic complex may have experienced crustal shortening in the early Cenozoic, followed by sinistral transtension in the early Miocene. The Lincang-Inthanon tectonic belt shows many lithological, tectonic evolutionary, and metamorphic similarities with the Gaoligong, Chongshan, and Ailaoshan–Red River shear zones. Therefore, the sinistral shearing along the Lincang-Inthanon tectonic belt and the Chongshan shear zone in the north, which may have initiated since the early Oligocene, played an important role in adjusting differential extrusion and rotation of the Baoshan–Shan Thai and Simao-Indochina terranes. Our results delineate the regional tectonic framework and provide insights into the characteristics and geodynamics of intracontinental deformation in the eastern India-Eurasia oblique convergence zone.

The southeastern (SE) South China Block was mainly influenced by the Paleo-Tethyan and Paleo-Pacific dynamic domains during the Mesozoic. The initial timing of the tectonic transition between these two domains in the SE South China Block still remains debated. The transition would affect the nature of the lithosphere and material provenance of sediments, and, therefore, igneous and sedimentary rocks in the area could record such dynamic processes. In this study, published geochronological and geochemical data of the Triassic and Jurassic igneous rocks and detrital zircon data of contemporaneous sedimentary rocks in the SE South China Block were compiled, aiming to provide constraints on the tectonic transition via tracing the spatial-temporal variations in the nature of the lithosphere and sedimentary provenance signals. The compiled results suggest that the magmatic intensity and volume decreased significantly from the Late Triassic to Early–Middle Jurassic, with an obvious magmatic quiescence between them, and increased from the Early–Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic. The εNd(t) and zircon εHf(t) values of mafic rocks, granitoids, and shoshonitic rocks remarkably increased from the Late Triassic to Early–Middle Jurassic, indicative of variations in the lithospheric mantle and continental crust. Such variations suggest that the initial tectonic transition occurred at the earliest Early Jurassic. Based on the southward paleocurrents from Early Jurassic sandstone, E-W–trending extension of Early–Middle Jurassic mafic and shoshonitic rocks, and similar sedimentary provenances of Late Triassic and Early–Middle Jurassic sedimentary rocks, these features imply that the SE South China Block was not immediately influenced by the Paleo-Pacific domain during the Early–Middle Jurassic. However, from the Early–Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, the spatial distribution, geochemical signatures, magmatic intensity, and magmatic volume of igneous rocks and provenance of sedimentary rocks exhibit obvious variations, and the regional fold hinge direction changed from E-W–trending to NE-trending, suggesting significant effects from Paleo-Pacific subduction on the SE South China Block. Thus, the Mesozoic tectonic transition from the Paleo-Tethyan to the Paleo-Pacific dynamic domain in the SE South China Block likely occurred during the Early–Middle Jurassic.

The Youjiang Basin is usually regarded as an important foreland basin in the southern part of the South China Block that is related to the convergence of the South China and Indochina blocks during the Permian-Triassic. However, the nature of the basin remains controversial due to questions about the subduction polarity and suture boundary between these two blocks. Permian-Triassic felsic volcanics across the Dian-Qiong and Song Ma suture zones could offer new insights into the convergent processes of the South China and Indochina blocks. This study presents detailed petrological, zircon U-Pb dating, and Hf-O isotope and whole-rock geochemical analyses for the Triassic felsic volcanics of the Youjiang Basin (northeast of the Dian-Qiong). The dacites and rhyolites from the Beisi and Baifeng Formations were dated at ca. 240–245 Ma. All of the felsic volcanics are characterized by high SiO2 (69.40–73.15 wt%), FeOt/MgO, 10000*Ga/Al, and TZr, δ18O (9.7–11.8‰) and negative εNd(t) (from −9.6 to −12.3) and zircon εHf(t) (from −6.2 to −14.5) with A-type granitoid geochemical affinities, suggesting the reworking of crustal rocks in an extensional setting. Permian-Triassic felsic igneous rocks display similar geochemical signatures across the Dian-Qiong suture zone, whereas they show distinctive Sr-Nd and zircon Hf-O isotopes across the Song Ma suture zone. The felsic igneous rocks to the northeast of the Song Ma suture zone have much lower εNd(t) and higher δ18O with negative zircon εHf(t) than those to the southwest, which have positive zircon εHf(t). Combined with other geological and geophysical features, it is inferred that the Song Ma suture zone was probably the suture boundary between the South China and Indochina blocks, and the Youjiang Basin was likely a peripheral foreland basin in response to the southwestward convergence of the South China Block toward the Indochina Block.

In order to verify the early Paleozoic accretionary assemblage in the Indochina interior and constrain the Prototethyan tectonic evolution in Southeast Asia, this study presents a set of new U-Pb geochronological, elemental, and Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf-O isotopic data for the fifty-two representative granitoids in South Laos. The granitoids from the Kontum terrane, Tam Ky-Phuoc Son tectonic zone, and southern Truong Son igneous zone in South Laos yield the crystallization ages of 464–485 Ma, 455–471 Ma, and 427–446 Ma, respectively, with a northerly younging trend within the Indochina interior. They are mainly monzogranite with A/CNK = 0.96–1.99 and K2O > Na2O, which are marked by enrichment in large-ion lithophile elements and depletion in high field strength elements with remarkable Nb-Ta, Sr-P, and Ti negative anomalies. Their initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios range from 0.70510 to 0.71559, εNd(t) from −9.5 to −3.0, (206Pb/204Pb)i from 18.65 to 19.72, (207Pb/204Pb)i from 15.66 to 15.80, and (208Pb/ 204Pb)i from 38.84 to 39.79. The corresponding zircon ɛHf(t) and δ18O values are in the range of −10.6 to +1.0 and 6.88‰ to 8.94‰, respectively. In addition, their Sr-Nd-Pb and Hf-O isotopic compositions are generally similar with those of time-equivalent granitoids in South Tibet and SW Yunnan, China, and synchronous mafic-intermediate igneous rocks in South Laos, but distinctive from those of the supracrustal sedimentary-derived South China Paleozoic granite and Lincang-Sukhothai S-type granite. The early Paleozoic granitoids in South Laos might have originated from a mixed source of the wedge-derived juvenile crust coupled with supracrustal materials. All these data synthetically suggest the southward subduction of the Tam Ky-Phuoc Son Ocean and the northerly on-growing Ordo-Silurian accretionary orogenesis within the previously defined “single-ancient” Indochina block. The assemblage of the Indochina block might initiate at ca. 430 Ma in the Silurian and terminate in the Early-Middle Devonian.

In Southeast Asia, the Jinshajiang–Ailaoshan suture in Southwest China and the Song Ma zone in Vietnam were generally accepted as the amalgamation boundary of the South China and Simao/Indochina blocks. However, the tectonic location of the Paleotethyan suture in North Laos and its tectonic affinity remain ambiguous. To address this issue, we present the geochemical and geochronological data of a set of mafic and plagiogranitic rocks along the Song Ma suture zone in North Laos. Three groups of rocks with distinctive petrological, geochronological, and geochemical signatures were identified. The ca. 370 Ma Group 1 plagioclase amphibolite was preserved as xenoliths in the ca. 260 Ma granitoids. It exhibits a normal mid–oceanic–ridge basalt (N–MORB)-like, multi-elemental pattern with highly positive εNd(t) (+3.3 to +10.7) and εHf(t) (+6.68 to +7.41) values and low δ18O values (5.3‰−5.5‰), that are interpreted as products of the Late Devonian − earliest Carboniferous continental rift setting. The ca. 270 Ma Group 2 gabbro/diabase–diorite exhibits arc-like geochemical affinity with the εNd(t), εHf(t), and δ18O values of –5.85 to –3.76, –3.8 to +3.2, and 6.6‰–7.6‰, respectively. It is derived from the metasomatized wedge. The ca. 260 Ma Group 3 plagiogranite shows Nb-Ta and Ti negative anomalies and positive εNd(t) (+3.21 to +4.21), εHf(t) (+8.4 to +13.6), and δ18O (5.9‰−6.8‰) values, which are indicative of its derivation from mafic oceanic crust in a subduction setting. In combination with the published data, these results support the development of the Carboniferous–Permian Paleotethyan branch in North Laos, which represents the tectonic location of the Song Ma suture zone that spatially connects the Jinshajiang–Ailaoshan suture zone in Southwest China and the Chenxing–Bangxi suture zone in Hainan Island, South China.

The most striking structural features in the interior of the Shan Plateau, southeast of the eastern Himalayan syntaxis, are a series of NE-trending faults that exhibit sinistral movement and an arcuate geometry. Their origin and tectonic evolution remain poorly understood. Furthermore, a switch in slip sense is recorded along many of these faults, but the timing of kinematic reversal is still unclear, hindering an understanding of the causal geodynamic mechanisms. We conducted an integrative study of apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronology, 40Ar/39Ar geochronology, and structural and geomorphic analysis to decipher the evolution of two major NE-trending faults: the Nantinghe and Dayingjiang faults. At least three deformation stages are identified within the Nantinghe fault zone, including top-to-the-SE/ESE thrusting, dextral ductile strike-slip shearing, and sinistral movement. Zircon and apatite (U-Th)/He data, collected from the northeastern terminus of the Nantinghe fault, reveal rapid cooling in the early Miocene. Combined with the 40Ar/39Ar data from sinistrally sheared mylonite, left-lateral movement on the Nantinghe fault is inferred to have initiated as early as ca. 20 Ma. The Dayingjiang fault reactivated as a sinistral brittle fault along the dextral Yingjiang shear zone. A two-stage thermal history is identified along the shear zone, with prominent cooling during dextral ductile shearing in the early- to mid-Miocene followed by a lower-magnitude cooling episode at ca. 11 Ma caused by sinistral transtension along the Dayingjiang fault. The evolution of the Nantinghe and Dayingjiang faults suggests that the NE-trending fault system in the Shan Plateau may have developed along preexisting structures and underwent diachronous slip-sense inversion in the late Cenozoic. The northward advance of the eastern Himalayan syntaxis caused a major change in both the regional stress field and fault geometries in the eastern India-Eurasia oblique convergence zone, contributing to the inversion of fault kinematics.

To better reveal the tectonic process of the Jiangnan Orogen in creating the united South China Block (SCB), a set of new geochronological, geochemical, and Sr-Nd-Hf-O isotopic data is herein presented for the coeval early Neoproterozoic mafic to acid rocks in the Lengjiaxi Group and its equivalents. Our data show that these rocks belong to subalkaline basalt, basaltic andesite, andesite, and dacite in composition, and can be geochemically classified into N-MORB- and arc-like mafic (Group 1 and Group 2, respectively), along with high-Mg andesitic-dacitic (Group 3) rocks. They yield zircon U-Pb ages of 837 ± 4 Ma, 832 ± 11 Ma, and 835 ± 7 Ma, respectively, suggesting their early Neoproterozoic (ca. 835 Ma) origin. Group 1 has SiO2 = 47.21–52.45 wt%, MgO = 7.36–10.07 wt% with Mg-number of 56–68, 87Sr/86Sr(t) = 0.7062–0.7136 and εNd(t) = +1.3–+9.4, along with N-MORB-like REE- (rare earth element) and PM (primitive mantle)-normalized patterns, suggesting its derivation from a refractory MORB-like source newly introduced by slab-derived fluid. The Group 2 samples are classified as tholeiitic basalt and basaltic andesite with SiO2 = 48.78–55.75 wt%, MgO = 7.70–12.74 wt%, Mg-number = 63–77, 87Sr/86Sr(t) = 0.7046–0.7098 and εNd(t) = –1.6 to –0.4. They exhibit similar “spiky” REE- and PM-normalized patterns to typical arc basalt, with pronounced enrichment in (large ion lithophile elements) and sharp depletion in (high field strength elements), probably inheriting from a sub-arc source modified by fluids and/or melts released from recycled sedimentary component. The Group 3 rocks show SiO2 = 57.74–66.30 wt%, FeOt = 6.22–8.59 wt%, Mg-number = 43–66, K2O+Na2O = 3.18–6.17 wt% with K2O/Na2O of 0.59–3.28, classified as high-Mg andesites and dacites. Diagnostic elemental and isotopic ratios of Group 3 include (La/Yb)cn = 7.7–11.4, (Gd/Yb)cn = 1.44–1.87, Eu/Eu* = 0.49–0.80, Nb/La = 0.27–0.42 and εNd(t) = –7.3 to –5.4, resembling to those of other early Neoproterozoic high-Mg intermediate rocks in the SCB, originating from a mantle wedge source with proportional addition of the recycled SCB sediment-derived components. In combination with the available data and geological observations, it is concluded that the N-MORB- and arc-like mafic, along with high-Mg andesitic rocks are coeval in the Lengjiaxi Group and its equivalents along the central Jiangnan Orogen and formed at ca. 847–832 Ma of the early Neoproterozoic period. The synthesis of these observations suggests the development of an early Neoproterozoic continental arc-basin setting. The arc-basin system westerly subducted and finally closed at ca. 830 Ma and the assembly of the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks terminated at ca. 810 Ma along the central Jiangnan Orogen.

Whether the driver of the Indosinian orogeny in the South China block was related to the evolution of the Paleotethyan Ocean or the Paleo-Pacific Ocean has been a point of much debate. We applied detrital zircon U-Pb dating to Permian–Triassic sedimentary rocks from South China to trace sediment provenance and to further test these models. Our results, combined with other published data from the Pingxiang, Youjiang, Yong’an, and Yongding Basins, show that 400–350 Ma and 300–260 Ma zircon grains are ubiquitous throughout the entirety of southern South China. This indicates regional magmatic events as potential sources. The discovery of Middle–Late Devonian and Early Permian igneous rocks, tuffs, and volcaniclastic rocks in Southeast Asia and Hainan Island implies the presence of two magmatic events (400–350 Ma and 300–260 Ma) within or beyond the southern margin of South China. This information, together with the mostly negative εHf(t) values of 400–350 Ma and 300–260 Ma zircon grains, arc-like geochemical signatures of the possible source rocks, and the regional geology of East Asia, suggests that they originated from sources related to Paleotethyan and even Proto-Tethyan subduction. Thus, Permian–Triassic sedimentation and the Indosinian orogeny in South China were largely controlled by the evolution of the Tethyan Ocean.