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| Nations Start to Collaborate in the Search | Nations Start to Collaborate in the Search |
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| SYDNEY, Australia — China, Japan and Britain joined the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner in the southern Indian Ocean on Friday, while Australian search aircraft used human spotters to scan the waters for floating debris that might be wreckage from the plane. | |
| The expansion of the multinational operation in the remote stretch of deep ocean illustrated how the increasingly bleak search for the jet was prompting some Asian nations to set aside regional tensions. China and Japan are locked in a dispute over islands in the East China Sea, but their forces will work in tandem in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, along with ships and planes from Australia, New Zealand and the United States. | The expansion of the multinational operation in the remote stretch of deep ocean illustrated how the increasingly bleak search for the jet was prompting some Asian nations to set aside regional tensions. China and Japan are locked in a dispute over islands in the East China Sea, but their forces will work in tandem in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, along with ships and planes from Australia, New Zealand and the United States. |
| Scrutiny of an area about 1,500 miles southwest of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, intensified after satellite images during the week appeared to show large pieces of floating debris there. Nothing had been found by Saturday morning local time, two weeks after the plane disappeared. | Scrutiny of an area about 1,500 miles southwest of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, intensified after satellite images during the week appeared to show large pieces of floating debris there. Nothing had been found by Saturday morning local time, two weeks after the plane disappeared. |
| The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, coordinating the search of the southern Indian Ocean, said Saturday that a private jet, a Gulfstream G5, had been commissioned for the search, joining a Bombardier Global Express and a Royal Australian Air Force P-3 Orion. The planes left Perth for the search site early Saturday. | The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, coordinating the search of the southern Indian Ocean, said Saturday that a private jet, a Gulfstream G5, had been commissioned for the search, joining a Bombardier Global Express and a Royal Australian Air Force P-3 Orion. The planes left Perth for the search site early Saturday. |
| Hishammuddin Hussein, the defense minister of Malaysia, which is in charge of the overall search, said on Friday that it was “very, very” difficult to talk with the families of those on the plane about the possibility that the 227 passengers and 12 crew members had died. Their most important question — where are their loved ones? — cannot be answered, he said at a news conference near Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where the plane took off for Beijing in the early hours of March 8. | Hishammuddin Hussein, the defense minister of Malaysia, which is in charge of the overall search, said on Friday that it was “very, very” difficult to talk with the families of those on the plane about the possibility that the 227 passengers and 12 crew members had died. Their most important question — where are their loved ones? — cannot be answered, he said at a news conference near Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where the plane took off for Beijing in the early hours of March 8. |
| The Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, speaking from Papua New Guinea, where he is holding wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, said Friday that he had spoken by telephone with President Xi Jinping of China, whom he described as devastated “as are so many people in China.” He added, “This has been a gut-wrenching business for so many people, not least those who are charged with the responsibility of keeping their citizens safe.” | The Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, speaking from Papua New Guinea, where he is holding wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, said Friday that he had spoken by telephone with President Xi Jinping of China, whom he described as devastated “as are so many people in China.” He added, “This has been a gut-wrenching business for so many people, not least those who are charged with the responsibility of keeping their citizens safe.” |
| Mr. Hishammuddin, who is also Malaysia’s acting transport minister, called the satellite images of the indistinct floating objects the best lead available, and announced that more ships and surveillance planes would help scour the area, alongside an American P8-A Poseidon aircraft, P-3 Orions from Australia and New Zealand and other aircraft and vessels. | Mr. Hishammuddin, who is also Malaysia’s acting transport minister, called the satellite images of the indistinct floating objects the best lead available, and announced that more ships and surveillance planes would help scour the area, alongside an American P8-A Poseidon aircraft, P-3 Orions from Australia and New Zealand and other aircraft and vessels. |
| He said that Britain would send a naval hydrographic survey ship, the Echo, and that Japan would send two more Orions. The Chinese government said it would send three military aircraft to Australia, joining a Chinese polar exploration vessel and merchant ships that are already on the way. | He said that Britain would send a naval hydrographic survey ship, the Echo, and that Japan would send two more Orions. The Chinese government said it would send three military aircraft to Australia, joining a Chinese polar exploration vessel and merchant ships that are already on the way. |
| “This crisis has put a heavy burden on Asian countries to cooperate,” said Bridget Welsh, a political scientist at Singapore Management University. “But there’s still the issues of wariness and lack of trust between them and some other partners,” she said, notably between China and the United States. | “This crisis has put a heavy burden on Asian countries to cooperate,” said Bridget Welsh, a political scientist at Singapore Management University. “But there’s still the issues of wariness and lack of trust between them and some other partners,” she said, notably between China and the United States. |
| Mr. Hishammuddin said he planned to call Chuck Hagel, the American defense secretary, to seek more “help with the search and rescue efforts, including remotely operated vehicles for deep-ocean salvage.” | Mr. Hishammuddin said he planned to call Chuck Hagel, the American defense secretary, to seek more “help with the search and rescue efforts, including remotely operated vehicles for deep-ocean salvage.” |
| John Young, the Australian official directing the search in the southern Indian Ocean, said that the Australian search planes would, for the moment, abandon radar scanning and rely instead on human spotters, a method he said was slower but more likely to yield results. | John Young, the Australian official directing the search in the southern Indian Ocean, said that the Australian search planes would, for the moment, abandon radar scanning and rely instead on human spotters, a method he said was slower but more likely to yield results. |
| “Noting that we got no radar detections yesterday, we have replanned the search to be visual,” Mr. Young said on Friday in a video posted online by the Maritime Safety Authority. Mr. Young is general manager of the agency’s emergency response division. | “Noting that we got no radar detections yesterday, we have replanned the search to be visual,” Mr. Young said on Friday in a video posted online by the Maritime Safety Authority. Mr. Young is general manager of the agency’s emergency response division. |
| “The aircraft are spaced more closely together, and we will need more aircraft for a search of that type,” he said. “Although this search area is much smaller than we started with, it nonetheless is a big area when you’re looking out the window and trying to see something by eye. We may have to do this a few times to be confident about the coverage of that search area.” | “The aircraft are spaced more closely together, and we will need more aircraft for a search of that type,” he said. “Although this search area is much smaller than we started with, it nonetheless is a big area when you’re looking out the window and trying to see something by eye. We may have to do this a few times to be confident about the coverage of that search area.” |
| Cmdr. William J. Marks, the spokesman for the Seventh Fleet of the United States Navy, said in an email that the American Poseidon aircraft would continue to search using radar and other electronic sensing devices. “Even when the weather is bad, we don’t give up the radar search and exclusively switch to visual,” he said. “The radar is pretty amazing, in that you can adjust for sea clutter to optimize the search.” | Cmdr. William J. Marks, the spokesman for the Seventh Fleet of the United States Navy, said in an email that the American Poseidon aircraft would continue to search using radar and other electronic sensing devices. “Even when the weather is bad, we don’t give up the radar search and exclusively switch to visual,” he said. “The radar is pretty amazing, in that you can adjust for sea clutter to optimize the search.” |
| Mr. Young said on Friday that investigators were looking for more clues to the current location of the floating objects seen in the satellite images. | Mr. Young said on Friday that investigators were looking for more clues to the current location of the floating objects seen in the satellite images. |
| “We want to find these objects,” he said, “because they are the best lead to where we might find people to be rescued.” | “We want to find these objects,” he said, “because they are the best lead to where we might find people to be rescued.” |
| David Griffin, an oceanographer studying currents in the southern Indian Ocean, said that satellite monitoring and computer models could help predict where objects might drift. “Assuming they stay floating, we can say to some extent where they are going in the future and where they came from in the past,” he said, though he added that the shape of the objects, and especially how deep they are in the water, could make a difference. | David Griffin, an oceanographer studying currents in the southern Indian Ocean, said that satellite monitoring and computer models could help predict where objects might drift. “Assuming they stay floating, we can say to some extent where they are going in the future and where they came from in the past,” he said, though he added that the shape of the objects, and especially how deep they are in the water, could make a difference. |