WASHINGTON: The United States has said that it was prepared to work with countries like India and China to provide humanitarian assistance in cyclone-ravaged Myanmar if Yangon did not allow a direct entry to its military for relief operations. Responding to a question on whether the US could work with the United Nations and countries like India and China until the airdrops by its military were okayed by the military junta, the Defense Secretary Robert Gates sounded positive.

"Well, this is really more the State Department's and the White House's arena, but my belief would be that if we cannot get in directly, that we would be prepared to work creatively with others in any way we could to help. And if that involves using an intermediary, perhaps we would do that," he said speaking at the Pentagon.

"I think our interest here is totally non-political. It's to try and help the people of Myanmar. And I think if we can't do it directly, then we'd be prepared to consider other means of doing it," he stressed. Meanwhile, the State Department said that there were no plans to get the United Nations Security Council involved in the humanitarian issue.

"The UNSC has been used on Myanmar for political issues and there are no plans by Washington to approach that body in the current humanitarian crisis," State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said. "Our focus, really, is -- as well as others -- trying to get the diplomacy to work, to try to get this regime to allow in international assistance. That really is the focus of our efforts," he added.