Australian surveillance aircraft have spotted two objects in the southern Indian Ocean as they continue to search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

A ship has arrived in the area to find the objects, with Australian prime minister Tony Abbott saying one object was circular and grey or green, and the other rectangular and orange. 

However, Abbott added a note of caution and said it was not known whether the objects were from flight MH370, and could be flotsam.

The aircraft - a Boeing 777-200ER - with 239 people on board disappeared on March 8th after leaving Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing.

Ten planes were due to scour the southern Indian Ocean area today for possible debris picked up earlier by radar echoes and satellite imagery.

Most of the people on board the Malaysia Airlines flight were Chinese, with pressure mounting there for conclusive answers as to what happened to the flight.