( CNSNews.com) - Sharp criticism from the United States and European Union appears to have done nothing to soften the Burmese military junta's opposition to the idea of Western warships and helicopters bringing in aid to the country's cyclone-stricken people.

While the regime has allowed the U.S. to fly dozens of C-130 cargo planeloads of supplies from neighboring Thailand to Rangoon airport, it remains insistent that U.S. Navy vessels carrying helicopters and 1,000 U.S. Marines and standing by in nearby waters do not join the effort in the Irrawaddy River delta, the area hardest hit by the massive cyclone Nargis that hit on May 2-3.

France and Britain also have naval ships in the area, awaiting an official go-ahead that shows no sign of coming.

Revealing a glimpse of the reclusive generals' thinking, the state-controlled New Light of Myanmar newspaper said that any military assistance from the U.S. would come with "strings attached" and cited concerns of an invasion aimed at stealing Burma's energy reserves.

Observers think a more likely reason is the junta's determination that Burmese citizens should not have the opportunity to see much-maligned Western nations in a positive light.

Instead, after lengthy delays, it has agreed that the U.N. World Food Program can use helicopters to fly in desperately-needed food supplies. It will also allow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations - often criticized for not taking a firmer stance against the junta - to funnel aid and send medical teams into the Irrawaddy delta. Visas for foreign aid workers remain limited.

With the steadily climbing official death toll from the disaster approaching 80,000, the restrictions continue to draw fire.

U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state Scot Marciel told lawmakers this week the generals' response to the cyclone had been "appalling" and warned of a danger of a "second catastrophe."

"If assistance is not allowed in, and thousands of Burmese perish, the responsibility for this catastrophe will fall squarely on the shoulders of Senior General Than Shwe and other Burmese leaders," Marciel told a House Foreign Affairs Committee Asia-Pacific subcommittee hearing.

Strong words came too from the E.U.'s aid chief Louis Michel, who told the European Parliament after visiting Burma that dealing with the Burmese rulers was like "being in a dialogue of the deaf."

A debate in the Strasbourg-based legislature heard the generals accused of crimes against humanity - echoing language used by some U.S. lawmakers earlier. A number of Euro-MPs argued that the U.N. Security Council should mandate immediate aid air drops, without awaiting the junta's go-ahead. The European Parliament is expected to pass a resolution Thursday to that effect.

The U.N. Security Council has not taken up the issue of the Burma cyclone, because members including China and Russia said earlier this month that the matter should not be "politicized."

France had suggested council intervention on the basis of a newly-adopted concept of a "responsibility to protect" people facing genocide or crimes against humanity, when governments concerned were unwilling or unable to do so.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday began a visit to Burma, following two weeks of unsuccessful efforts to make contact with Than Shwe.

Ban arrived at Rangoon on a flight from Thailand, and was expected to hold talks with the top general and visit the Irrawaddy delta.

He told reporters in Bangkok before leaving that the priority would be to "expedite all arrangements for facilitating the free movement of international relief aid and workers."

Ban said relief efforts to date had only reached about one-quarter of those in need. The U.N. believes up to 2.4 million people have been severely affected by the cyclone, the deadliest natural disaster in Burma's history.

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