They include at least four serving and retired generals who are suspected of supplying Taiwan with classified information on the mainland's deployment of fighter jets and air defence systems, the South China Morning Post reported.

Most of the officers worked at the Air Force Command Academy, the PLA's highest training institute for air force officers.

One of the officers was accused of accepting at least 120,000 US dollars from Taiwan's intelligence agencies, the report said.

According to the report, the officers were arrested in February or last month, when the central government said it had cracked spy cases involving Taiwanese businessmen based in China and 19 mainlanders.

Hong Kong Chinese language newspaper Sing Pao had identified two of those held as Major-General Liu Guang-zhi, president of the academy, and Major-General Li Suolin, a former deputy president of the academy.

WAR.WIRE