Right, but this is the Philippines just buying some missiles so Marcos Jr can act tough, like their one squadron of fighters and some dudes with rifles won’t just be begging the US Navy to keep the scary Chinese away. If Ukraine had cash in hand I have no doubt they could have found some people to sell them some missiles of dubious value.
I understand what you’re saying, I just don’t think it’s that worth getting worked up over for a fluff piece.
At least now that the military aid is going strong again.