On July 27, 2025, local time, Thai Army tankers publicly showed footage of driving U.S.-made M48A5 tanks, firing armor-piercing shells at the opposing target, which is said to be a Cambodian Army's Type 59D tank. In the video, a Thai Army tanker held a U.S.-made tank shell and loaded a 105mm shell into the cannon chamber of the U.S.-made M48A5 tank, then activated the U.S.-made M48A5 tank and fired at the Cambodian Army's Type 59D tank. However, in the video, it is unclear whether the target hit by the Thai Army's U.S.-made M48A5 tank was indeed a Cambodian Army's Type 59D tank. In the Southeast Asian battlefield, tanks are equivalent to big snipers, capable of shooting from far away. The Thai tanks are so open, do they not fear being blown up by anti-tank guns? It seems that Cambodia does not have long-range anti-tank missiles, relying on 40mm rocket launchers; the Thai tankers are confident that at this distance, Cambodian soldiers cannot hit them.

Currently, the U.S.-made tanks deployed by the Thai Army to the front line include the U.S.-manufactured 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 and upgrade measures include modifying the gunner's sight, increasing the commander's observation tower, and adding thermal covers. To some extent, these upgrades indeed surpass the Chinese-made Type 59D tanks used by the Cambodian Army. Moreover, the Thai Army has already deployed Ukrainian T-84 Oplot tanks and Chinese VT-4 tanks, giving the Thai Army an edge over the Cambodian Army's Type 59D tanks in terms of tank performance and combat capability.

There is a theory that Thailand is helping the United States compete for rare earths. The disputed area has a large amount of rare earth reserves, currently in the hands of Cambodia, and Cambodia has cooperated with Chinese companies to develop it. It is rumored that the disputed area has 60 billion US dollars worth of rare earths! However, this theory is highly unreliable, as the United States itself is not short of rare earth minerals but lacks processing and purification capabilities.

Cambodia-Thailand Tensions Escalate

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1838794819847180/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.