BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, March 10 -- His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah has sent a message of sympathy to Chinese President Xi Jinping following the recent loss of an aircraft involving Malaysia Airlines flight MH-370, the official RTB NEWS announced Monday.

In his message, His Majesty expresses his deep concern upon hearing of the incident involving Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, which had Chinese nationals on board. His Majesty states that the government and people of Brunei join him in conveying their deepest sympathies as well as their thoughts and prayers to the people and government of China, especially to the families of all the affected passengers at this difficult time.

In a related development, Brunei's Ministry of Defense said their ships are patrolling in their waters and are already in search and rescue (SAR) mode. From carrying out their routine duties, the Royal Brunei Navy's Darussalam Class has been instructed to switch to SAR, joining the likes of Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, China, Malaysia as well as the United States, who have committed their respective air and sea fleets to assist in the search.

Meanwhile, the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) in Brunei said after learning about the incident involving the Boeing 777- 200, it is closely monitoring latest developments and is in close contact with the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation.

The DCA also advised the public to refrain from making any speculations on the incident and spread unofficial or unverified information found in the social media.