Chinese defense minister breached diplomatic protocol when he handed over two packets stuffed with money to two Indian Air Force officers when they arrived in helicopters to fetch the delegation

New Delhi: In a major breach of protocol, visiting Chinese Defence Minister General Liang Guang Lie handed out Rs. 50,000 (US$ 894.00) each to two Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots on Monday, the Indian television channel NDTV reported.
Two Embraer and an Avro aircraft were sent to Mumbai to fetch the delegation to Delhi for delegation-level talks. These aircraft were from the communication squadron of the IAF which is tasked to ferry senior officials and dignitaries including the Indian Prime Minister and the President.
The normal custom is to hand over mementos by the visiting delegation; money is never handed over. IAF officials said when Indian dignitaries travel on these aircraft for foreign trips, they gift small mementos as a token of appreciation to the aircraft crew.

The money was handed over to pilots as mementos in two packets. Once the pilots opened the packets and realised that money had given they informed the IAF headquarters which in turn has written to Ministry of Defence. The money will be deposited in the Government treasury tomorrow morning.
Although India-China relations appear to be normalising, New Delhi should take this issue seriously and return the money back to China, even though such a step could unsettle the fragile relationship. Read more