Confusion clouds search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

On Wednesday, officials announced they have once again expanded the search area. It now covers 27,000 square miles -- in the Straits of Malacca and in the South China Sea.

The lack of a clear direction forced Vietnam to say Wednesday that it's pulling back on its search efforts until Malaysian authorities come up with better information on where to look.

"We have scaled down the searches for today and are still waiting for the response from Malaysian authorities," Phan Quy Tieu, Vietnam's vice minister of transportation, told reporters.

He described as "insufficient" the information provided so far on the airline, which vanished early Saturday over Southeast Asia with 239 people on board.

At a news conference Wednesday, Malaysian transportation minister Hishamuddin Bin Hussein defended his government's approach.

"We have been very consistent in the search," he said.