Gates: Myanmar rulers 'deaf and dumb' to global offers of aid

(CNN) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates lambasted Myanmar's leaders of being "deaf and dumb" to global offers of aid following a devastating cyclone, and said he will decide in a matter of days to withdraw U.S. ships from the southeast Asian country's coast.

Gates said the United States has reached out to Myanmar's ruling junta "15 different times" to convince them to let in international assistance, but the generals "have kept their hands in their pockets."

"So it has not been us who have been deaf and dumb in response to the pleas of the international community," Gates said during a question-and-answer session at an international security conference in Singapore.

Gates predicted that a greater number of cyclone victims who reside in hard-to-reach areas will die from water-borne illnesses and malaria because the Myanmar government will not take advantage of the helicopters sitting idle on the U.S. ships.

At the same conference, Myanmar's defense minister said his government broadcast warnings before the cyclone hit the country last month - and it has acted promptly since then in providing relief.