The maritime exchange network across the South China Sea, connecting mainland Southeast Asia and China, was intensified by the end of the fifth century. This connectivity was built upon existing terrestrial and maritime networks of exchange and communication, as well as human movement. Interaction within the South China Sea sphere is characterised by the movement of shared material culture exchanged among the communities, including nephrite Lingling-o and double-headed ornaments, Sa-Huynh-Kalanay related ceramic tradition, and “Đông Sơn” bronze drums. The sphere later merged with the Bay of Bengal sphere, introducing glass and stone beads (such as carnelian and agate). The latter materials were traded extensively into China and the Korean Peninsula. Recent technological studies have increasingly demonstrated that the complexity and scale of production, distribution, and consumption of items are much more complex and dynamic, involving local, regional, and inter-regional interactions. The role of Southeast Asia was not a mere unidirectional receiver of exotic goods, but also participated in manufacturing these items using foreign techniques, with a hint of locally adapted methods. These multilateral interaction spheres represent a nexus of geopolitical intricacy spanning the entire India Ocean and South China basins. Coming from recently excavated sites in the Thai-Malay peninsula, South-Central China, and beyond, associated with increasing implementation of detailed lab-based analyses, the data now offer the potential to reassess and reinterpret this multi-scalar connectivity and its societal impact on cultural landscapes. Therefore, we invite papers that could explore and discuss the status of the studies of these interaction spheres and connectivity, as well as their contributions to wider regional significance and future directions for research.