Department of National Defense (DND) Office-in-Charge and Senior Undersecretary Jose Faustino Jr. was asked point-blank Thursday, Sept.15 whether or not he thought the Philippines and China were on the warpath against each other.

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"Tanong ko (My question) once and for all, madame chair, para malinaw (for clarity), imminent ba na magkaka-giyera tayo (is it imminent for us to go to war) with China in the next years, at least under the term of the current administration?" Makabayan solon, Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel asked Faustino during the DND's budget hearing before the House Committee on Appropriations.

Before this, Manuel had insinuated that the proposed return of the reserve officers' training corps (ROTC) in the Philippine school system was intended to prepare the youth for war.

"We are in a non-conflict situation, we do not foresee--Ang sa atin kasi is, may giyera o wala, kailangan lagi tayong handa eh (for me, we should be ready whether there's war or not)," Faustino said in a rather long-winded answer to the solon.

"We cannot take for granted our security. That's why we are modernizing right now, that's why we are trying to come up with constructive engagement with our neighbors with like-minded nations and with like-minded allies. These are trust-friendly actions that we do," he said.

"We are not discounting any possibility because of the very volatile, uncertain, and complex, and ambiguous environment that we have right now. Given that as a background, hindi natin pwedeng pabayaan ang ating seguridad (we cannot neglect our security)," the DND chief added.

The Philippines and regional power China have long butted heads over their competing territorial claims in the South China Sea. Located within this area is the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Manila, through its unilateral action, was able to get an arbitration case award in July 2016 against Beijing's controversial nine-dash line claim from the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague.

China, via the nine-dash line, claims historical rights over the vast majority of the South China Sea, sometimes even reaching up to contested islands and other maritime features.

In the end, Faustino denied the premise of Manuel's question, which had to do with the alleged purpose of bringing back ROTC.

"Hindi naman sinasabi na dito nga sa pagbabalik ng ating ROTC ay gagawin nating--hindi naman siguro tamang sabihin na inihahanda natin ang kabataan natin para makipag-giyera (We're not saying that with the return of ROTC, we will--it would be incorrect to say that we're preparing our youth for war)," he said.

"Ang ating layunin dito is to engage yung ating mga kabataan (Our purpose here is to engage our youth), providing them with relevant skills and knowledge that are necessary in our current situation," noted Faustino.