Yes, that's the only reason we are not responding in kind.
Generally, no one cares if China is superior militarily and technologically.
1. Historically (since China loves to use history), mainland Chinese traders used to hire pre-Colonial “Filipinos” to protect them from Japanese pirates. Those pre-colonial “Filipinos” chased the pirates all the way back to mainland Japan.
2. During the height of the Korean War, it was the Philippine Army contingent who stopped and foiled the plans of the Chinese Army… multiple times. A small group vs. a much larger group; and LOL, the Chinese Army also had far more casualties than the Filipino side.
3. It is also enshrined in our National Anthem, “ang mamatay ng dahil sa 'yo” (literally: to die because of you).
However, since this issue can turn into a global war, we choose not to respond in kind. We're letting ourselves be bullied by our ancient friend turned-insane-and-traitor, China, just so the world won't be plunged into another World War.
(And quite frankly, China is doing this because they don't want a repeat of the total defeat and shame they experienced during the height of the Korean War when their large Chinese Army faced lost multiple times to a small contingent of Filipinos. Keep the status quo. Keep the Filipinos thinking they're weaker than their neighbours.)