ABOARD QIANDAOHU, March 26 -- Three Chinese warships reached their target area some 1,100 nautical miles west of Perth on Wednesday to search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

The mission area for the fleet, consisting of supply ship Qiandaohu, missile destroyer Haikou and amphibious transport dock Kunlunshan, is about 29,000 square km near 96 degrees east longitude and 43 degrees south latitude.

The crews combined visual search with other means such as radar and optical equipment, and sent helicopters up to carry out airborne observation.

If Wednesday's search ends up with nothing suspicious, the flotilla will move into the next phase when the ships will comb the area back and forth for five times to ensure that no clue is overlooked.

Meanwhile, Chinese icebreaker Xuelong has also arrived in the area where Chinese airborne searchers spotted some suspicious objects on Monday.