The Thai Army tankers publicly released footage on July 27, 2025, local time, of driving American-made M48A5 tanks and firing armor-piercing shells at the opposing target, the Cambodian Army's Type 59D tanks. In the footage, a Thai Army tanker held an American-made tank shell, loading a 105mm shell into the cannon chamber of the American-made M48A5 tank, then started the American-made M48A5 tank and fired at the Cambodian Army's Type 59D tanks. However, in the footage, it is unclear whether the target hit by the Thai Army's American-made M48A5 tank was indeed the Cambodian Army's Type 59D tank, but this is considered to be the first occurrence of a Sino-American tank battle in the Cambodia-Thailand conflict. In the Southeast Asian battlefield, tanks are equivalent to long-range snipers, shooting from far away. The Thai tanks are not afraid of being flipped over by anti-tank guns in such an open area. It seems that Cambodia does not have long-range anti-tank missiles, relying only on 40mm rocket launchers, and the Thai tankers are confident that at this distance, the Cambodian soldiers cannot hit them.
The Thai tankers publicly released footage of the American-made M48 tank firing armor-piercing shells at the Cambodian Army's Type 59D tank
Currently, the American-made tanks deployed by the Thai Army to the front line include the American-made M-48 and M-60 tanks, which have been upgraded by Israel's Elbit Systems Company and renamed as the Thai Army's M60A3TTS tanks. The improvement measures include modifying the gunner's sight, increasing the commander's observation tower, and adding thermal covers. To some extent, these upgrades do make the Thai Army's tanks superior to the Chinese-made Type 59D tanks of the Cambodian Army. Moreover, the Thai Army has already deployed the Ukrainian T-84 Oplot tanks and the Chinese VT-4 tanks, making the Thai Army's tank performance and combat power clearly superior to the Cambodian Army's Type 59D tanks.
The Thai tank force has preserved hundreds of American-made tanks
On July 27, the Thai military publicly released footage of the Thai突击队 (Special Forces) capturing the茄子山 (Eggplant Hill) and seizing weapons such as the Chinese-made LG4 revolver grenade launcher, Type 56 assault rifles, 40mm rocket launchers, ammunition, and communication equipment abandoned by the Cambodian soldiers. It can be said that in the Eggplant Hill battle, the Cambodian army was completely defeated, with an entire company of 60 personnel being annihilated by the Thai forces. With the support of the Thai Air Force's F-16 fighter jets, the Thai Special Forces successfully captured Eggplant Hill in the early hours. Under the advantage of the Thai military's weapons, the Cambodian army has shown signs of defeat.
The Cambodian army only has Chinese-made Type 59D tanks to counter the Thai armored forces
At the same time, on the 27th, the Thai military told the Thai people that if the Cambodian army had missiles with a range exceeding 200 kilometers, they could possibly fire at Bangkok from Cambodia, but the Cambodian army does not have such weapons. The Cambodian air force also does not have fighter jets, and their aircraft cannot fire long-range missiles at Thailand. The reason why the Thai military explained this is because there were rumors in Thailand that the Cambodian artillery might fire the Chinese-made PHL-03 long-range rocket launcher (export model AR-3 long-range rocket launcher), which could strike Bangkok, causing controversy in Thailand.
The Thai special forces captured a Chinese-made revolver grenade launcher
The Thai special forces captured the Cambodian army's discarded Type 56 assault rifles, 40mm rocket launchers, bullets, and magazines
The Thai military stated that the Thai Air Force's F-16 and Gripen fighter jets are capable of attacking Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The Thai Air Force fighter jets are equipped with guided bombs and air-to-ground missiles, and after bombing Phnom Penh, they can safely return without losses. The meaning of the Thai military is that if the war escalates, the Thai Air Force fighter jets will bomb Phnom Penh, penetrate the air defense network of the Cambodian红旗-12 (HQ-12) surface-to-air missiles. From the current situation, the Thai military has no intention of stopping the war.
The Thai special forces captured the high ground of Eggplant Hill on the 26th, under the cover of F-16 fighter jets and heavy artillery
The Cambodian air force doesn't even have fighter jets; even if they are advanced, they are just serving as targets. The Cambodian air force is worse than the Philippines. The Thai air force ranks second in Southeast Asia, with Singapore's air force ranking first. This is the gap of complete domination. Since Thailand did not buy the Chinese-made J-10CE fighter jets, the Cambodian air force should immediately purchase the J-10CE, JF-17 Xiaolong (Falcon), and FTC-2000G fighter jets. The Cambodian air force should consider buying 10 J-10CE fighter jets. Without a strong air force, Cambodia won't be able to win. Without an air force, Cambodia will be completely overwhelmed.
A company of the Cambodian Army was annihilated by the Thai Army
On the evening of July 26, 2025, local time, US President Trump planned to mediate the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, aiming to gain credit by imposing tariffs on both countries. Despite US President Trump claiming, "Thailand and Cambodia have heeded my trade threats and decided to cease fire and negotiate," the fighting between the Cambodian and Thai armies continued to be intense on the 27th, local time, with both sides continuing to bomb, shoot, and attack each other. Both sides still accused each other of initiating attacks, and the Thai military's reinforcement of troops had not stopped.
According to the Cambodian Ministry of Defense announcement: At 2:00 AM on the 27th, Thailand launched an attack on the Eagle Field area; at 2:30 AM, Thailand used conventional reconnaissance drones to conduct drone bombings in the Tassef and Khamoachi (Ghost Mountain) areas; at 4:50 AM, Thailand began shelling the Tamonethom and Taklaeb temples; at 6:00 AM, Thailand launched more infantry attacks on the Phnom Khmoach area.
The Cambodian Ministry of Defense announced on the 27th, the left side is Khmer language, the right side is the Chinese translation
For Trump, "If the war between Cambodia and Thailand does not stop today, it will eventually stop sooner or later. As long as there is a ceasefire, it is my 'Make America Great Again' achievement. After all, I took the initiative to occupy the position, and there must be a sense of priority!" Trump's intention is that both sides agree to a ceasefire, but specific details have not been determined. The Thai military will definitely not stop, hoping to gain more advantages before the ceasefire. Trump is like "grabbing the credit and saying he won", "whenever it stops, it's his credit." Whether it is Thailand or Cambodia, both sides feel that they don't need to give Trump any respect. Trump also doesn't care about them, so let them fight, this is just the beginning.
On the 27th, the Thai military fired American-made 155mm heavy artillery to strike the Cambodian military positions
Trump has always been good at capitalizing on hot topics, wanting to host the mediation, but neither Cambodia nor Thailand believes in it. After all, getting involved with the United States would inevitably result in being heavily exploited. There is a saying that Thailand is helping the United States to compete for rare earths, and the disputed area has a large amount of rare earth reserves, currently in Cambodia's hands, while Cambodia is cooperating with Chinese companies to develop it. It is said that the disputed area has 60 billion dollars worth of rare earths! However, this statement is quite unreliable. The United States itself does not lack rare earth resources, but lacks processing and purification capabilities. The United States wants to deepen its implementation of the Indo-Pacific strategy, and Southeast Asia is indispensable and very important. The Thailand-Cambodia border conflict provides an opportunity for the United States to further penetrate into the Indochina Peninsula.
Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7531688395588796963/
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