Their wont be any need for pictures and video's to the UN the US, Japan, Australia, and others would be in the fray.
The UN cant do anything besides send nastily worded letters.
What the PN needs is a military capable of securing and patroling its economic zone. Which is what the hamiltons main job is.
Look at the LCS. No one thinks it can ever fight the chinese. It wasnt ment to. I may believe its screwed up but the idea is right. The PN needs presence in the waters it controls or wants to control. So it can spend all of its budget on Modern Frigates and helicopter carriers and subs (of which it couldnt get them not in any realistic number) and have those ships..............sit in port because there arent enough or it could Maybe patrol sometimes.
Ships need down time like any other equipment. So do people. So if it can get the hamiltons it can set up a steady rotation and manage to have a presence in its waters all the time.
Focus on securing your EEZ and territorial waters, Modernize your transportation systems (roads and such they are in many ways the keys to commerce), boost your peoples economic, political and finacial futures. And over time modernize and get bigger.
China is able to get that massive navy because it has a massive economic machine.
"The sinews of war are infinite money."
~Marcus Tullius Cicero
I can see your point. However, the military hardware is not to go to war with any country let alone against China. It is for deterrence and to guard the Spratly's so China will not steal all the islands. Even the entire ASEAN countries militaries are no match with China. China will never invade any of the ASEAN countries. China's objective is to own and control the entire South China Sea. China is an voting member of the UN security council, so what do you think will happen, so sending pictures or videos to the UN will do what?