Capt Fathom, you beat me to it - ".... land at the nearest" what?
The 777 QRH, for example, has many references to "Plan to land at the nearest suitable airport." Quite a few things to consider for an airport to be suitable, including being available for use, and weather commensurate with the types of approach that can be used.
"To land the airplane as soon as possible, if needed" tends to be limited to time critical things e.g. Smoke, Fire or Fumes, the priority being to get the aircraft on the deck quickly, before the event overwhelms the crew and/or aircraft.
But, 1a sound asleep, to cry "Whatever happened to land at the nearest" and bang heads against walls ...... well, you perhaps haven't given your comment as much thought as you should? Until it is clear(er) what happened to MH122, you aren't really in a position to criticise, are you?