A former Taiwanese colonel has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, the latest in a string of cases, as anger rose over Beijing's "provocative" drive to recruit local agents, officials said Thursday.

Cheng Lin-feng, an army lieutenant colonel who retired in 2004, and civilian Tsai Teng-han were taken in by police Wednesday on an arrest order from the district court in northern Keelung city, court spokesman Chou Chi-yung said.

"The two have been arrested. Details of case will be held until the investigation is completed," Chou told AFP. He said he did not know Cheng's age.

Cheng was allegedly recruited by Chinese intelligence when he travelled to the mainland to do business, Taiwan's defence ministry said in a statement, adding that he had been investigated since a tip-off in 2009.

The case sparked an outcry, with legislators saying it showed Beijing remained hostile to Taipei despite an improvement in ties since 2008 when the China-friendly Kuomintang party came to power.

"The espionage case indicates that the Chinese have gone on infiltrating Taiwan in a massive manner despite easing tensions," said Lin Yu-fang, a Kuomintang parliamentarian.

"This is provocative and may cause Taiwanese people to feel greater disaffection towards the mainland. It is also unnecessary because Taiwan has never been a threat to the mainland, nor will it be so in the future."

The defence ministry also called on the public to be more aware of the threat of Chinese espionage.

"In the face of the growing exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, the general public should heighten its alertness regarding Chinese espionage... so as to jointly safeguard national security," it said in a statement.

Taiwan and China have spied on each other ever since they split in 1949 at the end of a civil war. Beijing still regards the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

Taiwan suffered a severe setback in 2011 in the decades-long espionage battle when the former chief of the army telecommunications and electronic information department was sentenced to life for spying for China.

He is one of the highest-ranking Taiwanese to be convicted of spying for Beijing.