By Sue Pleming
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Florida (Reuters) - The United States announced on Wednesday more helicopters and aid to beef up relief efforts in Pakistan, which is grappling with its worst floods in 80 years.
Defence Secretary Robert Gates said the U.S. military was tripling the number of helicopters in Pakistan from six to 19 and was sending in a landing platform to be used off the coast of Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city.
President Barack Obama wanted to "lean forward" in being helpful, said Gates, who voiced concern that Islamist militants would seek to expand their influence by giving much-needed aid while Pakistan's civilian government struggled to reach victims.
"It does offer them (militants) an opportunity and so we are pleased to do what we can to help the Pakistani government and military demonstrate their capacity and their intention to care for their own people." Gates told reporters travelling with him to Florida.
"We will do what we can," he added.
Roiling floods triggered by unusually heavy monsoon rain have scoured Pakistan's Indus river basin, killing more than 1,600 people, forcing 2 million from their homes and disrupting the lives of about 14 million people, or 8 percent of the population.
The United States, which has already committed $55 million (35 million pounds) to Pakistani flood relief efforts, also announced it was contributing another $16.2 million to the United Nations refugee agency and the International Red Cross for emergency assistance to flood victims.
"I would expect we'll have a higher contribution to make as we understand what exactly is needed," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told a news briefing.
Gates said the USS Peleliu, with about 19 helicopters on board, was already off the coast of Karachi. Six helicopters initially sent to Pakistan to assist relief efforts would return back to neighbouring Afghanistan, he said.
The additional airlift capacity had been requested by the Pakistanis to deal with the floods, which raised fears for the prospects of the nuclear-armed U.S. ally already battling a deadly militancy.
SECURITY WORRIES
Pakistan's military, which has ruled the country for more than half of its 63-year history, has taken the lead in relief efforts, reinforcing the faith many Pakistanis have in their armed forces and highlighting the comparative ineffectiveness of civilian governments.
Asked how the floods could impact security in Pakistan, Gates said: "It remains to be seen. It really depends on how many troops they have to use," said Gates. "Clearly they are going to have to divert some troops, and already have, to deal with the flooding."
"We were not expecting them to undertake new offensives for some period of time anyway," he added.
The United States has been pressing Pakistan to be more proactive in going after militants, particularly in the border areas with neighbouring Afghanistan, where U.S. troops are in fierce battles with the Taliban.
Later, in a speech at U.S. Central Command, Gates hailed improved military ties with Pakistan, saying Islamabad had recognized the Taliban threat and driven militants out of safe havens and killed or arrested "numerous" extremist leaders.
"We have seen dramatic improvements in the U.S. military relationship with Pakistan, overcoming more than a decade of mistrust and estrangement," he said at a ceremony to mark the handover of control of General James Mattis.
Mattis, who is now responsible for overseeing the wars both in Iraq and Afghanistan, took over after a U.S. military staff shake-up sparked by the departure of Afghanistan war General Stanley McCrystal, who was relieved of his post after a devastating Rolling Stone magazine interview.
Gates did not mention McChrystal's departure in his speech but praised former U.S. Central Command chief, General David Petraeus, who he said was "quickly" called upon to take McChrystal's job leading U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
(Additional reporting by Andrew Quinn in Washington; Editing by Paul Simao)
