Just seems to me that if the plane was where they thought it was, it would have been found by now. All this dickering around is just cruel to the loved ones of the passengers and crew. Given the involvement of a thug US administration, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if someone or some agency knows the plane is in enemy hands and is just stringing the families along for nefarious political reasons.
They have hardly scratched the surface of the search area where they heard those pings.
The area is 18,000 sq miles and they are only able to cover with the Bluefin about 35 sq miles a day. To cover that area thoroughly would take a year and a half.
They are just hoping to get lucky.