Image copyright Reuters Image caption People are praying for the safety of the passengers onboard the MH370 flight

Media in China urge South East Asian nations to step up their rescue efforts to find the missing Malaysia Airlines jet.

Beijing-bound flight MH370 vanished on Saturday shortly after it left Kuala Lumpur. There were 239 people on board

Departing from its usual critical tone, an editorial in the Global Times Chinese edition reflects on the "risks of life" and calls for countries to place "humanitarianism" on top of "geopolitical interests".

"Discrepancies and frictions fill the whole world, but this incident strongly impresses on us that mankind has a common enemy, it is a force that engulfs lives… They are natural calamities or man-made disasters," says the daily.

Commenting on the multinational search effort in the South China Sea, Yin Zhuo, an expert from the People's Liberation Army Navy, says that with "co-operation in humanitarian actions, the enmity between countries on the South China Sea dispute will slowly decrease", the China Youth Daily reports.

Mr Yin further suggests China should build airports and ports in the disputed region to swiftly respond to marine and air accidents.

China, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan all have separate claims of sovereignty over different group of islands, reefs and shoals in the region.

A commentary on Global Times Chinese edition praises Vietnam for taking a proactive approach to the search effort.

"Despite criticisms that the Vietnam rescue operation has been proven wrong for their findings, their effort is commendable," it says.

The commentary calls for greater collaboration between the two countries to create a "peaceful and stable situation in the South China Sea region".

"There are territorial disputes between China and Vietnam, but Vietnam has allowed Chinese vessels to enter their waters for the rescue operation… Both countries could use this as an opportunity to broaden consensus and co-operation," it adds.

'Chaotic' response

Meanwhile, press continue to express unhappiness over the response of Malaysia Airlines to the "tragic incident".

Describing Malaysia Airlines' handling of the crisis as "chaotic" and "confused", the 21st Century Business Herald says it is "unrealistic" to rely on the airline for further information.

"The most immediate task is to establish a transnational aviation safety co-operation mechanism… to prevent an information blind spot and to lower the possibility of such rare incident from happening in future," it says.

Echoing a similar sentiment, a commentary on the Legal Daily criticises the lax security at Kuala Lumpur International Airport following news that two passengers boarded the plane with fake passports.

"Do the security checks of this airport meet the aviation safety level?... The fake passport incident is a warning that countries should have better communication and sharing of passport and international travel information," it says.

Still on the news of the missing plane, local media are reporting that China has poured in "massive" resources, including deployment of 10 high-resolution satellites to locate the missing flight.

The Southern Metropolis Daily says the navy has dispatched four warships to the South China Sea, the largest rescue fleet deployed "in history".

The Beijing Times praises the government's effort and says that from the dispatch of the search team to promptly responding to the needs of the affected families, the government has given hope to the people.

"The big country has made its promises, they are not empty promises. Everyone in China and in everyone in the world could see the effort of the Chinese government," it says.

And finally, some media outlets are expressing concerns over rumours and inaccurate reports that are surfacing on the internet.

A commentary in the Guangming Daily urges netizens to stop spreading unverified information that might cause unnecessary anxiety to the affected family members.

The Southern Metropolis Daily calls for more responsible reporting from the media, as "being authoritative is more precious than being speedy".

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