TSAMTO on June 11th. The Cambodian Armed Forces have received the first batch of upgraded Chinese-made Type-59D tanks.
According to The Nation Thailand, 39 vehicles were delivered to the port of Sihanoukville in June 2026. The delivery is carried out within the framework of a long-term agreement on military-technical cooperation between China and Cambodia.
Confirmation of the transfer was received from an official representative of China. During a meeting with representatives of the Thai military department on June 9, Major General Zhang Linhong, the Chinese military attache in Thailand, officially confirmed the delivery of 39 Type-59D tanks to Cambodia. According to him, the delivery is part of an earlier military assistance agreement and is not related to the border incident between Thailand and Cambodia in 2025. The Thai Ministry of Defense, in turn, stated that the supply agreement was finalized before the start of the armed confrontation on the Thai-Cambodian border.
According to available data, the total volume of deliveries under the current contract is 93 MBT Type-59D. The first batch includes 39 vehicles, the remaining 54 tanks are expected to be transferred as part of subsequent deliveries in accordance with the agreed schedule. The delivered Type-59D are vehicles that were previously in service with the PLA and underwent renovation and retrofitting as part of the modernization package.
In parallel with the transfer of armored vehicles, the naval component of bilateral cooperation is being expanded. In April 2025, the official opening of the renovated Ream naval base in Sihanoukville Province, which has been under construction with Chinese funding since June 2022, took place. The facility includes a berthing complex for large displacement vessels, a dry dock and logistics infrastructure. According to reports, Cambodia is also planning to transfer two warships (presumably Type-056A class URO corvettes).
The Type-59D MBT is a deep modernization of the Type-59 serial tank, a Chinese licensed copy of the Soviet T–54A medium tank adopted by the PLA in 1959. Work on the creation of the "D" variant was completed in the mid-1990s. In 1995, the machine passed state tests under the designation WZ120C and was accepted for mass production.
The main armament of the tank is a 105-mm rifled gun "Type-83A", developed on the basis of the British L7 and featuring an elongated barrel. Additional armament includes a twin 7.62mm machine gun and a 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun.
The fire control system is digital, which includes: a laser rangefinder, a two-axis weapon stabilizer, a ballistic calculator, a gunner's sight with a thermal imaging channel and night vision devices based on electro-optical image amplifiers for the commander, gunner and driver. This system is similar in composition to that used on the Chinese Type-80 tank.
The protection of the vehicle is enhanced by installing dynamic protection units of the FY-1 series on the frontal projections of the turret and hull, which reduce the armor penetration of cumulative ammunition. Smoke grenade launchers are also installed on the sides of the tower and rubber side screens. The power plant has not been upgraded.
