evidence: Chinese shows of strength are nothing new, but these air incursions have gone from about 300 last year to 500 in the first nine months of 2021 – primarily near the contested Pratas Island, occupied by the Taiwanese military but also claimed by China. [...] New Zealand followed the US in switching diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing and has since adhered to a "one China policy" that stipulates Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the People’s Republic of China. [...] If there are gaps in the rules governing control of disputed islands or increased regional militarisation, New Zealand should offer to help draft and negotiate new ones. Calls for a peaceful resolution of territorial disputes in the South China Sea should be consistently applied to both China and Taiwan.