Are they selling military equipment?

An article in the US-based website called "We Are The Mighty" has ranked the Armed Forces of the Philippines as No. 6 among the 10 worst military organizations in the world.

On its list of Top 10 worst military organizations are: 1.Costa Rica 2.Iraq; 3.North Korea; 4.Eritrea; 5.Nigeria; 6.Philippines; 7.Tajikistan; 8.Mongolia; 9.Saudi Arabia; and 10.Afghanistan.

The article said that despite the Chinese military buildup in the region, with aggressive moves by Beijing to claim areas and build islands in the Spratlys, the Philippine military remains backward and ill-equipped.

 "The President of the Philippines vowed to upgrade the country’s aging Navy and Air Force to the tune of $1.7 billion and the Philippine Congress passed a bill appropriating $2 billion for the effort…But that’s it," the article said.

 "The Philippine Naval and Air Forces are still nearly 60 years old and its ships are old US Coast Guard cutters," it added.

The observations about the state of the Philippine military are valid. But the listing appears to be rather arbitrary. For instance, Costa Rica does not even have a functional military as it considers itself neutral and does not need to maintain a standing army.

North Korea, as we know, has a well-equipped army and even has the potential to build nuclear weapons, if it has not already done so.

So, just how reliable is this listing?

The article says the US has, by far, the largest, most powerful, well-equipped, and best trained military force to ever exist on Earth. That raises the question: are the people behind this listing fronting for American defense contractors?

Image by: www.dailymail.co.uk