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The Lincang-Inthanon tectonic belt is a major tectonic boundary within the south-eastern 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 SimaoIndochina 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]