The lethal clashes which have damaged out between Cambodia and Thailand characterize the newest occasion of a long-running dispute between the 2 outdated rivals centred on a shared 800km-long border, with hostilities in latest months culminating on this new outbreak.
Flaring up on 24 July, the preventing has seen main gamers within the worldwide group calling for calm, with the US stating it was “gravely involved” by reviews of escalating assaults alongside the Cambodia-Thailand border.
“We strongly urge the quick cessation of assaults, safety of civilians, and peaceable settlement of disputes,” mentioned a US State Division spokesperson on 24 July.
ASEAN nations, China, and Australia have additionally all known as for calm.
As Thailand’s performing prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai says on 25 July that the newest trade of fireplace, which has resulted in additional than a dozen fatalities, might push the nations right into a state of struggle, Military Know-how takes a take a look at their respective army capabilities.
Cambodia vs Thailand: defence budgets
The latest knowledge obtainable from analytics agency GlobalData states that in 2024, the Thai authorities allotted $4.4bn to its complete defence price range, representing a destructive compound annual development price (CAGR) of -1.4% from 2020-2024.
Nevertheless, Thailand’s army spending was forecast to register a CAGR of 5.8% throughout 2025-2029, reaching $5.9bn. The 2024 acquisition price range of $1.2bn was anticipated to develop to $1.7bn in 2029.
In contrast, Cambodia operates an annual defence price range of round $1.3bn, in accordance with knowledge from the UK-based International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS).
Regardless of the obvious disparity in defence spending, the primarily mountainous and forested border shared between the 2 nations affords a pure barrier, the place air energy and long-range strike will probably be favoured.
The border does embrace areas of lowland and concrete areas, the place extra conventional land area capabilities could be viable, in addition to a maritime border, which sees a contested patchwork of claims between Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Vietnam within the Gulf of Thailand.
Cambodia vs Thailand: land area
Thailand’s land forces comprise a mixture of older gear from the US and Europe, with newer platforms obtained from China and Ukraine, the latter previous to the outbreak of the Ukraine-Russia struggle. Specifically, Thailand acquired 74 Chinese language origin VT-4 main battle tanks (MBT) between 2017-2023 and 49 T-84 Oplot MBTs within the mid-2010s.
The nation’s combined mobility armour is a mixture of 8×8 platforms, together with round 130 Stryker M1126 infantry preventing autos, with some 100 older tracked FV101 Scorpion mild tanks. It additionally maintains greater than 200 BTR armoured personnel carriers (APC) throughout quite a few variants.
Thailand’s artillery and oblique fireplace pressure is appreciable, containing platforms obtained within the Nineties by means of to the 2010s, together with GHN-45 155mm howitzers (~54 models), the ATMOS 2000 155mm (~15 models), round 40 of the outdated M109 155mm programs, and a small quantity (much less then ten) of the French CAESAR 155mm platform.
Cambodia primarily obtains its gear from China and Russia, working a number of hundred Chilly Warfare-era T54 and T55 MBTs, in addition to a small variety of China-origin Type 59 tanks. Its IFV and APC fleets flip to older BTR variants, whereas more moderen acquisitions embrace new Tigr and Dongfeng 4x4s from Russia and China respectively.
As well as, in Might 2025, the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces formally unveiled the combination of two new Chinese language-made air defence programs: the QW-3 Vanguard man-portable surface-to-air missile and the TH-S311 ‘Good Com-Good Hunter’ command and management system.
The nation’s ground-based long-range fires primarily consists of a number of launch rocket programs (MLRS) in accordance with the IISS, numbering over 300 models, together with a small variety of the superior PHL-03 MLRS from China, which is armed with 300mm munitions that may fireplace to vary of over 120km.
Cambodia vs Thailand: naval area
The 2 nations function comparatively small navies, though Thailand’s is the bigger of the pair, with as much as 16 frigates and corvettes, together with Chinese language-origin Kind 053/H2 (six) from the Nineties and a single Bhumibol Adulyadej-class frigate, based mostly on a South Korean design, able to full spectrum operations.
As well as, the Royal Thai Navy additionally operates the world’s smallest plane service, the HTMS Chakri Naruebet, displacing simply over 11,000 tonnes and constructed as a scaled model of Spain’s bigger Principe de Asturias class by Navantia.
The vessel now operates as a helicopter service, embarking MH-60S and S-70B rotary platforms, having seen the disbanding of its AV-8B STOVL fighters in 2006. The HTMS Chakri Naruebet has additionally had extraordinarily poor availability in recent times.
As compared, Cambodia has once more sourced its property from China and Russia, primarily quick patrol boats and maritime patrol cutters, with between 10-20 models considered operational.
China is anticipated at hand over two of its Type 056 corvettes to Cambodia, as ties between the 2 nations proceed to develop. China can also be purported to keep up de-facto management over Ream naval base, a strategic port from which to undertaking Beijing’s goals within the area.
Cambodia vs Thailand: air area
The relative disparity within the two nations’ air forces steady from the place the naval area left off, with Thailand working fixed-wing fight fighters, airborne early warning platforms, and lightweight assault plane, each mounted and rotary.
Particularly, Thailand can depend on 11 JAS-39 Gripen fighters of the C and D variants in its fleet, in addition to a theoretical fleet of round 50 F-16 multirole by means of to the Block 15 B variants, which have reportedly been used within the latest hostilities. Round 19 US-origin F5 fighters are additionally in service, acquired within the late-Nineteen Seventies, now closely modernised.
Thailand just lately ordered 12 additional JAS-39 aircraft of the trendy E/F variants, in alternative of a few of its older F-16 fighters. The shut relationship with Sweden continues with the Royal Thai Air Power working Saab 340 airborne early warning aircraft, key enablers within the fashionable battlespace.
In the meantime, Cambodia operates a variety of Chinese language and Russian-origin rotary platforms for transport and fight operations. Phnom Penh additionally operates a small variety of fixed-wing L-39C jet trainers, configured in a patrol and floor assault variant, which will probably be changed by the newer NG version.
Cambodia vs Thailand: army conclusion
In purely army phrases, Thailand holds a definite benefit, in a position to leverage its superiority within the air by means of its F-16 and JAS-39 fighters for long-range strike operations. This pattern continues within the naval area with the clear benefit to the Royal Thai Navy, though any shift from the present state of hostilities into the maritime area could be a major escalation.
Within the land area, with the vast majority of the border tough successfully inaccessible for heavy armour, the focus of forces by means of low-land and concrete choke factors within the could be susceptible to oblique and long-range fires.
An ideal leveller in fashionable fight operations, using massed strike drones and a technique assault munitions, can also be an element that must be thought of. Nevertheless, it isn’t identified to what extent both aspect has sought to modernise its ideas of operations to these being seen within the Ukraine-Russia war.
