Representatives from China, Malaysia and Australia meet in Kuala Lumpur to discuss the search of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on April 16, 2015. [Photo: chinanews.com/Zhao Shengyu]

The Chinese, Malaysian and Australian governments have agreed to double the search zone for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 if it's not found in the current search area.

The current search grid covers an area of some 60-thousand square kilometers in the Southern Indian Ocean.

The decision to potentially expand the search has been made as part of a trilateral ministerial meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

"If we cannot locate the aircraft within the 60,000 square kilometres, we'll continue the second phase of another 60,000 square kilometres search," said Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai.

An agreement has also been reached among the three countries that if the wreckage of the plane is found in the current search area, they will all collaborate on recovery work.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on March 8th of last year en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

It's widely believed someone onboard the flight intentionally ditched the plane in the southern Indian Ocean after running it dry of fuel.