Dimapur, October 17 2009: Although road connectivity might be better on the other side of the Mcmahon Line which demarcates the border with China it did not mean India was in a disadvantageous position in security preparedness, a senior army commander said.

"In security preparedness parlance, infrastructure has different connotations and road connectivity is only one aspect of preparedness," GoC of the army's 3 Corps Lt Gen NK Singh told newsmen here last night.

"In certain situations, even bad road connectivity provides advantages and good roads become problematic," Lt Gen Singh said when reference was made to poor connectivity in Arunachal Pradesh.

Referring to reports of visits by northeast militant leaders to Unan province of China, the general said there was no credible evidence of official support from the Chinese but it was known that they generally went there to procure arms from clandestine markets.

"All of you are aware about the presence of an ULFA leader in Bangladesh but we do not have confirmation that he recently shifted his hideout to China," the army commander said.

The general pointed out that the infamous 'Golden Triangle' along with south China had large clandestine markets for small arms and narcotics.

"As far as infiltration of these arms and narcotics into India is concerned, various mechanisms have been put in place to check smuggling.

We very often alert state governments and other agencies on this," Lt Gen Singh said.

When asked about use of Mizoram as an arms transit route of late due to its comparative peaceful environment, the general said the security forces were keeping a tab on the development and working with the state governments to check it.

To check inflow of arms and narcotics through Moreh in Manipur-Myanmar border, a 10 km-long barbed wire fencing was being erected on the international border, he said.

The main problem was that the smuggling did not generally take place through the normal border transit routes which had check posts, but jungle tracks of mountainous terrain making effective surveillance difficult, he said.

On flushing out of NE militants from Myanmar, General Singh said the issue was being taken up at various levels, but evidence showed there was little support from that country for them.

Barring a few, most camps were temporary in nature and set up with the supports of various interests groups and ethnic militants operating on other side of the international border, he said.

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