I have spent a lot of time in the jungle, and believe me, there are many areas where you have trouble walking in, let alone driving 50 tonne MBTs in
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Yes, there are definitely limitations how/where you deploy a 50 ton vehicle.
But the tropical terrain is not alone in limiting the use of MBT. Example in Korean War, a lot of times the tanks could not support the infantry as a lot of the fighting were done up in hilly terrain. But both sides still valued the use of MBT in areas where they can be employed.
Both Koreas not only continue to operate MBT but even build their own.
You can also read about the usefulness of the Centurion and other MBT in Vietnam. You just need to have the correct intel when and where they can be employed.
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The other side of the coin, you can also read about how the Japanese used their Light tanks in WW2 Blitzkreig down the Malayan Peninsula.
They were mostly road-bound - as opposed to popular belief that Light Tanks means you'll operate them inside the jungle.
They were used to support or spearhead infantry drives along the roads to capture bridges in their race towards Singapore.
In this role, it mattered less whether they weighed 5 tons or 50 tons. In fact, a MBT with its wide tracks and very low ground pressure would probably have much better mobility compared to all other classes of vehicles especially wheeled ones.
I'm not saying how this will be in every conflict, but it certainly gives you enough reasons to keep an open mind. One can only say that there are limitations to MBT operations, as opposed to the MBT being entirely unsuitable for certain parts of the world etc.
You just need the correct ideas plus a whole range of compatible support equipment including bridging, recovery and engineer vehicles etc.
Nearly every country from Indochina to SE Asia operates MBT.
