The Chinese ship Haixun 01 has detected "pulse signals" around the search area for missing Malaysia Airlines MH370, which Australian authorities said are of a frequency similar to pulse signals emitted by aircrafts' black boxes.

Authorities cautioned that they still need confirmation on the detected signals if these sounds are indeed coming from the missing airline's black box. 

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"This is an important and encouraging lead. But I advised you to observe caution in interpreting this lead," said Australian Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, head of the joint agency coordinating the search.

State-run news agency Xinhua earlier reported that the Haixun 01, using a black box detector installed in the ship, picked up a signal at 37.5Hz per second on Saturday, at around 25 degrees south latitude and 101 degrees east longitude.

Aircraft experts said the frequency of the detected pulse signal was consistent with those coming from aircrafts' black boxes.

The Australian Navy Ship Ocean Shield and British HMS Echo have been sent to the area of the detected pulse signals to verify the latest information.

Authorities will also verify the "white objects" the Chinese have seen on the surface, about 90 km from the detection area.

Around 12 aircraft and 13 ships from the multinational search teams are currently scouring the search area of 134,000 square miles off the Indian Ocean to find the missing Malaysia jetliner.

Houston pointed out that both the objects and the pulse signals detected by the Chinese search team have yet to be confirmed if they are linked to the missing plane's black box, which batteries only have a life span of 30 days.

The Boeing 777 jet disappeared mid-flight on March 8, leaving search teams only several more hours to locate its flight data recorders before they completely die out.