Malaysia said Thursday that debris found on a remote island was from flight MH370, the first proof that the plane met a tragic end in the Indian Ocean 17 months ago and offering hopes one of aviation's biggest mysteries could finally be solved.

Australian authorities, who have led a multinational search for the ill-fate plane, expressed renewed confidence that the frustrating search for MH370 was on the right track.

Debris found on an Indian Ocean island last week is from MH370, Malaysia's prime minister announced on Thursday, confirming for the first time that the plane which mysteriously disappeared 17 months ago had crashed.

"Today, 515 days since the plane disappeared, it is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts has conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed from MH370," Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters.

Secretary of State John Kerry told Malaysia's leader Wednesday his government should do more to stop people-trafficking, a U.S. official said, a week after Washington controversially praised the country's efforts.

The State Department on July 27 raised Malaysia from its lowest Tier 3 ranking on trafficking to the "Tier 2 Watch List", drawing allegations that President Barack Obama's administration was trying to curry favor with Malaysia to gain its support for a regional trade pact.

Southeast Asian diplomats said Tuesday that China's controversial island-building drive is raising regional tensions, with the Philippines slamming its "unilateral and aggressive activities".

The U.S. and some Southeast Asian states have watched with growing alarm as Beijing expands tiny reefs in the South China Sea, topping some with military posts to reinforce its disputed claims over the strategic waters and fanning fears of future conflict.

Mauritius said Monday it would do all it can to search in its Indian Ocean waters for possible debris from Malaysia Airlines missing flight MH370, after wreckage washed up on nearby La Reunion.

"We have responded positively to a request from the government of Malaysia," Deputy Prime Minister Xavier-Luc Duval told reporters Monday. "Every effort will be undertaken to locate any debris."

Malaysian aviation experts met French officials Monday to coordinate the investigation into missing flight MH370, days after the discovery of a washed-up plane part offered fresh hopes of solving the mystery.

The Malaysian team arrived at the Palais de Justice in Paris shortly before 2:00 pm (1200 GMT) to meet with a French judge, a group of experts and police charged with the investigation.

A fevered hunt for more wreckage from missing flight MH370 on La Reunion island turned up no new clues Sunday as authorities said metallic debris found by locals did not come from an airplane.

However Malaysia urged authorities in the Indian Ocean region to be on the lookout for debris washing up on their shores as hope flared a piece of a Boeing 777 wing could help solve one of aviation's greatest mysteries.

Investigators are "moving close to solving the mystery of MH370," Malaysia's deputy transport minister said Friday, adding that a piece of wreckage found in the Indian Ocean has been confirmed as coming from a Boeing 777.

"I believe that we are moving close to solving the mystery of MH370. This could be the convincing evidence that MH370 went down in the Indian Ocean," Abdul Aziz Kaprawi told Agence France Presse.

Australian authorities Friday said the discovery of plane wreckage, even if found to be from MH370, would not narrow down the location of the main debris field or solve the mystery of why the jet crashed.

The wreckage, which is two-meters (six-feet) long, was found on a beach on the French island of La Reunion in the Indian Ocean and is expected to be analysed in France on Saturday.

Plane wreckage washed up on a tiny Indian Ocean island will be sent to France for investigation, as hopes mounted Thursday the mysterious object could unlock the riddle of missing flight MH370.

After a fruitless 16-month search for the Malaysia Airlines plane, the discovery of a piece of a plane wing offered up the bittersweet hope of closure to the families of 239 people who seemingly disappeared into thin air on the doomed flight.