BEIJING (REUTERS) - China's civil aviation chief said on Thursday that there was no proof that floating objects in the South China Sea seen by satellite images were connected to the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

"Chinese satellites have found smoke and floating objects ... At present we cannot confirm this is related to the missing aircraft," Mr Li Jiaxiang told reporters on the sidelines of China's annual meeting of parliament.

He added that there was also no evidence the Malaysian military was concealing information about the missing flight.