Malaysia and Australia are pleased with China's pledge to contribute A$20 million and ship for the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the matter, as well as other issues, were discussed during his first bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on the sidelines of the 27th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits Sunday.

"We are very pleased to see a contribution of a ship plus A$20 million from the Chinese government yesterday. That was very helpful," he said in a joint press conference with Najib after the meeting.

Flight MH370, with 239 people on board, disappeared on March 8 last year while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It is believed to have "ended its journey in the southern Indian Ocean".

Australia is leading the multinational search mission for flight MH370, which is said to be the biggest in history involving more than 20 countries and over 100 assets including aircrafts and vessels.

The Malaysian government confirmed in August that an aircraft flaperon found on La Reunion in the Indian Ocean belonged to the flight.

Turnbull said Australia, Malaysia and China would continue working together to locate the aircraft.

"It's a large ocean, it will take some time," he added.