This morning, the Myanmar Cyclone Nargis victim estimates reached 1.5 million displaced people and nearly 200,000 dead. Almost 2,000 square miles are still under water, and rain is in the forecast for the Irrawaddy Delta region. People are gathering in tiny makeshift refugee camps, which means that the spread of diseases such as diarrhea and malaria will spread very quickly. In one extreme case, there are exactly 5 latrines for 3,500 people in a camp. A bag of rice costs upwards of $35.

In spite of these horrendous numbers and the accelerating deterioration of the situation, the government of Myanmar is still wary of foreign aid. They are very reluctant to accept assistant from a country like the US, for fear that we are working to sabotage their military regime. A vast majority of the world would doubtless like to see the junta ended, but this is not the time to consider politics. Humanitarian aid should come without strings attached. It should be delivered and accepted with no question when so many lives are at great risk. We cannot do anything to prevent natural disasters from occurring (except perhaps shrink our carbon footprint), but we can at least respond to them quickly and efficiently.

Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) works exclusively in regions facing natural disasters, war, or anything that creates a health crisis. MSF, along with many other NGOs like World Vision, is working tirelessly to distribute the resources necessary to keep the Burmese refugees healthy, but their efforts are continuously blocked by the junta. In order to keep a favorable image, the military regime wants all aid to be channeled through themselves, so they’re blocking visas and keeping supplies for themselves. In the face of such irrational behavior which is further endangering Burmese citizens’ lives, what are our other options?

1. Deliver aid from Thailand. Yesterday, Admiral Keating and Harriet Foreman, the head of the US Agency for International Development, flew into Myanmar from Thailand to meet with the top Burmese naval officer in what the Washington Post called “the highest-level military contact between the two countries in decades.” Fore reported that the discussions were “a good first step” toward further US aid. The US will have three naval ships, each stocked with helicopters and aid supplies, off the coast of Burma within 48 hours. The helicopters can begin air-lifting supplies into Burma as soon as they receive permission.

2. Look at diplomatic options. The US should avoid anything that remotely resembles a unilateral intervention. This should not be about politics, but the junta’s policy of retaining power at all costs, regardless of lives lost, forces the world system to consider them. Probably, nothing can be accomplished politically unless China* begins to lean on their neighbor. Unfortunately, they have already forbade the UN Security Council from acting, stating that the Council is supposed to be used for threats to international peace.

*(Of course, China’s got it’s own problems now: an estimated 12,000 died in an earthquake this morning. Fortunately, the relief efforts began quickly and the government is doing everything it can to aid survivors and find victims trapped under the rubble.)

3. Consider a coalition. Burmese authorities are much more likely to allow aid from a Western coalition than from any single Western state. Safety in numbers.

Hopefully the junta will relent and allow aid to flow unchecked over its borders. Until then, the US, ASEAN, and the UN should think outside the box and find a way to relieve the suffering. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims in Myanmar and China today.