Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te recently inspired Air Force officers by highlighting historical instances where smaller militaries triumphed over larger adversaries. His remarks, released on Tuesday, aimed to boost morale ahead of the upcoming annual war games.
Despite Taiwan's robust objections, China has persistently conducted military exercises around the island for four years, asserting its sovereignty claim despite Taiwan's democratic governance.
Taiwan's armed forces, although significantly outnumbered by China's, remain steadfast in their defense.
But Taiwan has been modernizing the military not only with new equipment like submarines but also by championing the idea of "asymmetric warfare," aimed at making its forces more mobile and difficult to attack. Examples include vehicle-mounted missiles and drones.
Lai, wearing camouflaged military fatigues and taking questions in front of a Taiwan-made Ching-kuo Indigenous Defense Fighter at an air base in central Taiwan, said military strength is not simply a mathematical question of addition and subtraction.
"The amount of equipment is important, but it cannot solely represent the military power of a country," Lai said, according to video footage released by his office.
"In history, there are many cases where the few have won out over the many, and there are countless ways to defeat old-fashioned enemies with new thinking."
A senior Taiwan official said last month that this year's annual Han Kuang drills will be as close as possible to actual combat, no longer just a show to score points but aiming to simulate real fighting, given a rapidly rising "enemy threat" from China.
Taiwan will start its five-day Han Kuang exercises on July 22, alongside the Wan An civil defense drills, where cities are briefly shut down during simulated air raids.
China held its own war games around the island for two days shortly after Lai took office in May, saying it was "punishment" for his inauguration speech, which Beijing denounced as containing separatist content.
Lai rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims and says only Taiwan's people can decide their future. He has repeatedly offered talks but has been rebuffed by China.
"The peace we want is solid, a true peace that must be established through our own strength," Lai said at the Taichung air base.
China has previously said it is futile for Taiwan to think it can use arms to prevent "reunification."
Asked by a fighter pilot whether Taiwan was giving people the wrong impression it was preparing for war due to its focus on defense and self-sufficiency, Lai said he wanted peace.
"Some people may have such concerns, but everyone knows we are a peace-loving country," he said. "But the peace we want is a true peace, built on a solid foundation and established through our own strength."