China is reportedly developing a short takeoff and vertical landing aircraft for its navy to strengthen its amphibious combat capability, the China Daily reports.

In late March, the Aviation Industry Corp of China -- China's leading aircraft maker -- announced that subsidiaries AVIC Chengdu Engine Group and China Aviation Engine Establishment signed an agreement to cooperate on development of an engine for a STOVL aircraft.

"Research and development on components of STOVL aircraft, such as the engine, have started," Wang Ya'nan, deputy editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the newspaper China Daily. "The aircraft's principles are not new. They have been known for more than 40 years, so our aircraft designers should be able to develop the plane on their own." Wang said.

China has only one aircraft carrier, the CNS Liaoning, to project its naval airpower, but it is unlikely to add more in the near future due to the difficulty and lack of lengthy experience in building such a vessel, Wang said. If conflict erupted between China and another country, the PLA Navy's carrier-borne J-15 fighters would have to engage in long-distance strikes as well as air defense for the carrier battle group.

Deployment of STOVL aircraft on the CNS Liaoning and other ships to defend against incoming enemy aircraft would relive the burden on the J-15s, which could then focus on long-range operations, Wang said.

This reported STOVL aircraft development project is not the first time China has looked at such an aircraft. The People's Liberation Army asked the country's aircraft institutes to develop a STOVL platform but later abandoned the idea because of technical difficulties.

The PLA also tried to buy Britain's Hawker Siddley Harrier jet in the late 1970s but found the costs prohibitive, the newspaper said, quoting unidentified Western military observers.

"... In the foreseeable future, I don't see a high probability of China's involvement in a war far from its shores," Wang said. "Being dragged into limited amphibious conflicts in or near our territorial waters would be more likely. The STOVL aircraft will be the best choice for air support in such conflicts."

China is currently embroiled in territorial disputes with Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and other nations over ownership of a number of reefs, islands and atolls in the South China Sea region, sparking fears of armed conflict.