Experts split over whether Malaysia Airlines flight could have gone to China
As search for the missing flight in China gets underway, some experts say a large plane could not have entered Chinese airspace undetected
As China began looking for traces of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 within its borders, Chinese experts were divided over whether such a big jet could enter its airspace undetected. The move follows a request from Malaysia that it be given access to classified Chinese radar data.
Huang Huikang , China's ambassador to Malaysia, said China had started a search and rescue operation on its territory, checking the possible northern flight path of the Boeing 777-200 following its disappearance from radar screens on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Of the 239 passengers and crew, 154 were Chinese.
Malaysian authorities appealed to China and other countries on Monday for radar data after satellite data showed the jet had either flown north towards Kazakhstan or along a southern corridor towards the southern Indian Ocean from its last known location over the northern Malacca Strait.
Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei did not say directly on Monday whether China would share its radar data, saying only that Beijing was willing to "proactively co-operate with Kuala Lumpur if it was beneficial to the search".
Watch: China is searching for Malaysian jet inside its territory