'The best armed forces in the world'?

I have often pointed out that the NHS is not 'the envy of the world' despite what our politicians say. So let's nail another lie, the British armed forces are not the best in the world and haven't been for quite a while. They do their best with the limited resources they are given, a situation that worsened horribly under the parsimonious (when it came to defence) Gordon Brown. So I am not surprised to read at The Register that

'Pakistani pilots flying modernised versions of the 1970s-vintage F-16 Falcon fighter have beaten the RAF's brand-new Eurofighter Typhoon superfighters during air combat exercises in Turkey, according to a Pakistani officer.'

The article in The Register quotes an interview with an unnamed but evidently experienced Pakistani Air Force (PAF) F-16 pilot on exchange with the Turkish air force, posted on the official site of the PAF display team, which includes the following intriguing and rather damning passage. (Hat tip to the excellent DEW Line blog for flagging this up.)

Q: Any memorable experiences that you would like to share? A: On one occasion – in one of the international Anatolian Eagles - PAF pilots were pitted against RAF Typhoons, a formidable aircraft. There were three set-ups and in all three, we shot down the Typhoons. The RAF pilots were shocked.
Q: Any particular reason for your success?
A: NATO pilots are not that proficient in close-in air-to-air combat. They are trained for BVR [Beyond Visual Range] engagements and their tactics are based on BVR engagements. These were close-in air combat exercises and we had the upper hand because close-in air combat is drilled into every PAF pilot and this is something we are very good at.

 An underfunded army with inadequate equipment, a massively underfunded navy short of ships and submarines & having to contemplate sharing an aircraft carrier with France and an air force so starved of modern equipment that relevant skills may have been lost. It's almost as though the last Labour government was deliberately trying to destroy the UK's ability to defend itself and operate an independent armed force; now why would that have been the case?