Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered U.S. Navy ships off the coast of Myanmar to leave today, as the cyclone-devastated country’s military regime continued to refuse U.S. relief workers access. According to Admiral Timothy Keating, the U.S. Navy tried on 15 separate occasions to obtain authorization, but was either ignored or denied each time.

The United Nations estimates that approximately 2.4 million people are in need of food, shelter or medical care in Myanmar, following Cyclone Nargis, which killed 78,000 people and left another 56,000 missing, according to official estimates.

Adm. Keating said he is “both saddened and frustrated” by the Burmese government’s refusal, noting that U.S. Navy assistance might have alleviated “the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people.” According to Voice of America, Keating said that U.S. forces will return to the area “if the ruling generals change their minds.”

According to state-controlled media, Myanmar’s ruling military junta fears “an invasion by U.S. forces interested in seizing its oil deposits.”