hehehe.. i think the main issue here is regarding the stand of rd on the jets... and my stand is he is wrong... we need the jets for so many purposes...
According to the military (see the article I shared earlier), they will be stationed at Subic facing the West Philippine Sea where there is Chinese military presence (see par. 7). The same military states in subsequent paragraphs that the aircraft will be used for both air-to-air combat and air-to-ground combat.
Given that, I doubt that the aircraft were purchased not to counter China, unless the country faces immediate threats involving aircraft from other nations. Of course, air-to-ground combat may involve local insurgencies, etc.