TAIPEI (Reuters) -&nbsp;Taiwan's military vowed on Wednesday to step up&nbsp;counter-espionage&nbsp;efforts as authorities investigated several serving and former military officers&nbsp;suspected&nbsp;of spying for&nbsp;China.
China, which is pressing the island to accept its sovereignty, has in recent years mounted a sustained&nbsp;espionage&nbsp;campaign to undermine democratically governed&nbsp;Taiwan's military and civilian leadership, a Reuters investigation has found.
A lieutenant colonel surnamed Hsiao, based in the army's Aviation and Special Forces Command, had been detained on suspicion of leaking defence secrets to "foreign forces including&nbsp;China" and "developing organisations" in&nbsp;Taiwan, the official Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
Investigators searched the Command headquarters in the northern city of Taoyuan this week, the CNA reported, adding that four retired military officers as well as a "middleman" surnamed Hsiao were also being investigated.
The defence ministry said in a statement authorities had gathered "concrete evidence" of illegal activities.
"Facing&nbsp;infiltration&nbsp;by the Chinese Communist Party, the national forces will continue to boost&nbsp;counter-espionage&nbsp;education and raise awareness," the ministry said, adding it was saddened by the crime of "selling out the country and people".
Responding to a question about the reports at a press conference, Deputy Secretary-General to the Presidential Office Alex Huang said the incident was "shameless" and called for thorough investigations.
"Betraying your own fellow soldiers and country should be punished by law strictly," he said, adding that authorities had been working hard to prevent such incidents happening again.
China's&nbsp;Taiwan&nbsp;Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China, which views&nbsp;Taiwan&nbsp;as its own territory, has stepped up military and political pressure over recent years to try to force the island to accept its sovereignty, which the government in Taipei rejects.
In the past decade or so, at least 21 serving or retired&nbsp;Taiwanese officers with the rank of captain or above have been convicted of spying for&nbsp;China, according to a Reuters review of court records and reports from&nbsp;Taiwan's official news agencies.
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(Reporting By Yimou Lee; editing by Robert Birsel)

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Taiwan boosts counter-espionage effort after suspected China infiltration