During 'Operation Sindoor', China got the opportunity to test its weapons against Russian and French-built missiles and jets. Pakistan's arsenal is dominated by Beijing supplies which got tested against India's Rafales and S-400 air defence systems, among others. Similarly, the ongoing conflict between Thailand and Cambodia has offered Beijing an opportunity to analyse how its rockets and missiles can perform against the US war machine, reports said.
Ever since the conflict between the two Southeast Asian countries escalated, Cambodia has heavily deployed rifles and rocket artillery systems to keep the superior Royal Thai Army at bay. Cambodia has relied on its Chinese PHL-03 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) along with the Russian BM-21 rocket launchers even as its not-so-friendly neighbour scrambled its jets.
China has been Cambodia's primary defence supplier over the last two decades, and Phnom Penh’s PHL-03 has particularly been described as a major threat by Bangkok. They provide Cambodia with major deep-strike capability as they can travel as far as 70 kilometres, reports said. The Chinese PHL-81 / Type-81 / Type-90B MLRS, as well as the truck-mounted Type-90B rockets, are also part of Cambodia's attack plans for the ongoing conflict. According to reports, these projectiles are being fired as far as 40 kilometres into Thai territory.
China’s fifth-generation GAM-102LR guided anti-tank missiles were seized by Thailand when they captured Hill 500 from its neighbour on December 14. These missiles can be deployed by infantry units as well as be mounted on vehicles for shoot-and-scoot firepower and were deployed as part of Cambodia’s forward defensive posture, as they have been relying on long-range precision-guided munitions in the hope of gaining an upper hand.
Type-59-I and Type 66 have been the go-to artillery for the country, which are both Chinese-made. Thailand, meanwhile, has been using their F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets to obliterate enemy positions. These aircraft are using US-made Mark 82 bombs with precision-guided glide navigation systems to take out the Chinese-supplied artilleries and MLRS, a report said.
The capture of GAM-102LR missiles is being celebrated by Thailand as one of its BTR-3E armoured vehicles being captured by Cambodian forces was reported across the region. The BTR-3 is an eight-wheel drive armoured personnel carrier developed by an international consortium led by Ukraine. A Chinese VT-4 main battle tank of Thailand had ruptured its gun barrel while at war, for unknown reason(s).
