Malaysian PM to visit Perth search base
Tony Abbott is expected to use a visit from his Malaysian counterpart to Perth tomorrow to seek support for Australia taking the lead role in the investigation into the MH370 mystery.
Najib Razak will visit RAAF Pearce base to thank all involved in the multinational effort to find remains of the plane.
_The West Australian _understands Mr Abbott is likely to remain in Perth to accompany the Malaysian Prime Minister.
The US and Boeing want Australia to co-ordinate the painstaking investigation into MH370 rather than have searching nations hold their own inquiries.
To that end, former Defence chief Angus Houston was appointed to head a 20-person incident co-ordination team in Perth.
Australian officials are unsure what China would do if one of its vessels collected debris from the doomed aircraft.
"Australia owes it to the world to do everything it can to aid the search," Mr Abbott said in Perth yesterday.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing vanished on March 8 with 239 passengers and crew.
Day 23 of the international search was marred with frustration yesterday when four orange items of interest were confirmed as more fishing junk.
An Australian P-3 Orion plane spotted the objects on Sunday and the pilot said it was the most promising lead in the search.
But an Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokesman said yesterday the objects were unrelated to the flight and nothing new had been sighted.
Mr Abbott toured RAAF Pearce yesterday to thank everyone involved in the search.
He said each country was bearing its own costs but Australia would cover running the co-ordination centre.
Mr Abbott said it was heartening countries including China, Japan and South Korea were working together to solve the mystery, while Malaysian aircraft joined the southern Indian Ocean search in recent days after combing Asian waters.
Mr Abbott said Australia was not putting a time limit on the search and that more planes and ships would join the effort.
The ADV Ocean Shield left Stirling naval base at 6pm yesterday with electronic wizardry to try to locate MH370's black boxes and the wreckage.
