Would you prefer to live in Russia where Putin's economy is in shambles as oil prices plummet. His people are starving, so he has to resort to pushing around smaller neighbors. How did his Syria forays work out for him?
As for the Philippines, they're now groveling back to Obama trying to curry favor.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-obama-philippines-idUSKCN11B2C0
Imagine how Trump would have reacted. He would have responded with military strikes and risk the lives and resources of our military personnel. Fortunately, we have a commander-in-chief that has the temperament to walk away.