Survivors of the super Typhoon Haiyan, wait for a C-130 military plane at Tacloban airport, Leyte province, central Philippines, on November 12, 2013
China should put aside its territorial dispute with the Philippines to help victims of typhoon Haiyan, state-run media said Tuesday, adding that doing so was in Beijing's best interests.
The two countries are embroiled in a long-standing dispute over islands in the strategically vital South China Sea -- which Beijing claims almost in its entirety -- and Manila says Chinese vessels have occupied the Scarborough Shoal, which it claims, since last year.
China is to give the Philippines $100,000 for relief efforts, the foreign ministry announced Monday, and the state-run Global Times newspaper said in an editorial Tuesday the territorial row should not affect such decisions.
"It's a must to aid typhoon victims in the Philippines," the paper, which is close to the ruling Communist party, said.
But it added: "China's international image is of vital importance to its interests. If it snubs Manila this time, China will suffer great losses."
"Aid to the typhoon victims is a kind of humanitarian aid, which is totally different from foreign aid in the past made out of geopolitical concerns," it said.
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