A Taiwanese army officer was detained by Taipei over accusations of handing military secrets to China, the defense ministry said Wednesday, adding that a group of collaborators were also arrested.

A lieutenant colonel named "Hsieh," along with a number of other defendants were suspected of working on behalf of China to access and leak sensitive national defense information.

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The ranking army official is also accused of establishing a spy network, comprised of serving and retired military personnel, to collect intelligence for China, the Taipei Times newspaper said citing unnamed prosecutors with Taiwan’s High Prosecutors Office.

“The Ministry of National Defense is saddened and severely condemns the small number of unscrupulous people who violated the duty of defending the country and committed such crimes as betraying the people of the country,” the defense ministry said in a statement.

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Four individuals, including a retired army major, were also questioned by the authorities before being released on bail, the newspaper added.

Tensions between Taiwan and Beijing have been on a dangerous rise in the past few years, fueled by increased US efforts to push for Taiwan's "independence," despite claiming to abide by the "One China" policy, which sees the island as part of mainland China.

Washington's meddling in the South China Region and its ongoing attempts to create militarily heated spots near the Chinese borders have also played a significant role in placing Beijing on the defense. This was put on overdrive as the United States continues to work on forming an international anti-China alliance with aims to cripple the Asian giant's exponential economic and tech growth - which imposes a direct threat to the American unipolar world order.

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