Intelligence is suspecting a spying angle in the recent incident in which Chinese defence minister offered cash gift to two Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots during his recent trip to New Delhi.

On Monday, China's Defense Minister General Liang Guanglie gave sealed envelopes to the two IAF pilots who flew him from Mumbai to New Delhi. The pilots accepted the envelopes thinking it to be some small gift like a pen set. But on opening envelops, they found each enveloping containing Rs. 50,000 rupees ($900). The pilots immediately reported the incident to the air headquarters, which then reported the `tip' to the ministry of defence.

Indian intelligence is not ready to consider the incident as an innocent mistake. Many believe that the Chinese minister might have made an attempt to `test waters.' In simple words, the Chinese minister allegedly tried to assess if the IAF pilots could be lured away with cash.

Commenting on the incident, an intelligence source said, "Sometimes these are baits that they hand out to test if they can cultivate an asset and these officers could have been the targets."

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a senior official from the Indian defence ministry said such incidents would add to the mistrust between the two countries and adversely affect their bilateral ties.

Sources in the defence ministry have revealed that joint secretary in the ministry of defence has wrote to the East Asia arm of the ministry of external affairs, directing it to lodge a protest with China over the incident.