Multiple floating objects were spotted by patrol aircraft in an area where Australian ship Ocean Shield detected suspicious signals, officials at Chinese patrol ship Haixun 01 said Wednesday.

Haixun 01 is heading to a search zone of about 75,000 square kilometers where the objects were spotted, at about 20 degrees south latitude and 98 degrees east longitude, to assist in the search for the missing Malaysian jet MH370.

Chinese officials aboard Haixun 01 told Xinhua they were informed of the latest sighting of floating objects by Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Center (JACC) late Tuesday night.

Chinese rescue ship Nanhaijiu 115 and Chinese naval vessel 998 are already working in the search area, they added.

The current focus area of Chinese and Austrlian search efforts was determined by caculating ocean current flows using the locations where suspicious signals were detected by Haixun 01 and Ocean Shield as base points, they said.