Cambodian National Police on Monday took possession of two Korean-made anti-riot trucks outfitted with water cannons, authorities announced yesterday.

The police first announced a public bidding process for the two trucks – each a Tata Daewoo DWC-10,000 – in public advertisements in September of 2014, coming on the heels of a year in which the government was widely criticised for its heavy-handed response to opposition protesters and striking workers.

Each truck can carry 10,000 litres of water, and their cannons have a range of 50 metres.

“These two anti-strike trucks will equip police forces for operations in keeping and protecting safety, security and social order,” Lieutenant General Kirt Chantharith, spokesman for National Police, was quoted as saying on the police’s website.

Cambodian authorities used conventional firetrucks against demonstrators a handful of times in 2013 in the wake of the disputed national elections, including one instance in which a woman was knocked unconscious by water at a land rights protest.

The new trucks, however, are the Kingdom’s first water cannon-bearing trucks purpose-built for controlling protests.