php.vim inherits from the syntax for html.vim, so when html is put inside of a php string, that allows starting a new php region string for syntax. Having a new option to just support a basic subset of html for php_htmlInStrings may be more appropriate. ``` syn cluster htmlPreproc add=phpRegion,phpRegionAsp,phpRegionSc ``` The htmlPreproc is needed for `<a href="<?= htmlentities($url) ?>?>` to be highlighted.