Reported connections to south-east Asians (5)
I believe the answer is:
thais
'asians' is the definition.
(Thai is an example)
I don't understand the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for thais that I've seen before include "Natives of former Siam" , "Asians" , "Opera" , "Siamese people" , "orientals" .)