Chinese warship Jinggangshan is cruising at full throttle toward the patch of the southern Indian Ocean where an intensive search is under way for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

The amphibious docking vessel, which was previously arranged to scour waters southwest of Sumatra, is expected to move into position west of the western Australian port of Perth on Sunday.

A Chinese naval flotilla of three vessels has already reached their target area -- some 1,100 nautical miles west of Perth -- to hunt for the ill-fated Boeing 777 plane.

Meanwhile, Chinese icebreaker Xuelong has also arrived in the area where Chinese airborne searchers spotted some suspicious objects on Monday, and a Chinese merchant ship has reached waters where French satellites detected some suspicious items.

In addition, more Chinese military and civilian vessels are en route to the southern Indian Ocean for the search mission.