Taiwan's defense ministry on Wednesday said that a lieutenant colonel has been detained along with several conspirators over suspicions of leaking military secrets to China. According to the ministry, they are suspected of being recruited by China to gather information on national defense secrets among other information.
The lieutenant colonel, surnamed Hsieh, is also suspected of contributing to the development of a spy organisation comprising of active and retired military officers and tasking with collecting information for China, as per local media reports.
"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," said the Ministry.
Additionally, a retired army major and three others were questioned in the matter and released on bail. There is no comment so far from Taiwan's High Prosecutors Office regarding the matter.
This comes as tensions between China and Taiwan continue to increase. China has insisted that Taiwan is a separatist province that must be reunited with the mainland—even if it means using force—to do so. China has been stationing warships close to Taiwan and regularly sending fighter jets into the air defense zone.
Though both provinces have been controlled separately for more than 70 years, the CCP continues to claim sovereignty over the island nation. China has, on several occasions, stepped up military exercises around the self-ruled country, which it considers its territory under the 'One China policy'.
Meanwhile, the United States administration recently announced a major $345-million military aid package for Taipei, including weapons that may help in deterring China from any attack, much to the chagrin of Beijing.
(with AP inputs)
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