South-east Asian makes connection, reportedly (4)
I believe the answer is:
thai
'south-east asian' is the definition.
'Thai' can be an answer for 'asian' (from Thailand). I am not certain of the 'south-east' bit.
'connection reportedly' is the wordplay.
'connection' becomes 'tie' (tie is a kind of connection).
'reportedly' shows a homophone (sound like).
'tie' is a homophone of 'THAI'.
'makes' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for thai that I've seen before include "From Bangkok, for example" , "SE Asian" , "oriental language" , "Citizen of the country once known as Siam" , "Native to Phuket, for example" .)