BEIJING: In their first defence talks of the year, China vowed on Wednesday it will `never compromise` on Taiwan and told the US to stop providing military aid, days ahead of a crucial election on the self-ruled island.

Saturday`s election is being closely watched including by policymakers in Beijing and Washington as its outcome will impact the future of Taiwan`s relations with an increasingly assertive China.

At the talks, held at the Pentagon on Monday and Tuesday, Chinese officials demanded that Washington `stop arming Taiwan, and oppose Taiwan`s `independence``, according to a Chinese defence ministry readout.

According to the Pentagon`s readout, the US reaffirmed its calls for `peace and stability` across the Taiwan Strait.

The two sides also discussed the crucial waterway, where the two powers last week held rival drills, and which has seen a spate of standoffs between Beijing and Manila in recent months.

According to the readout from Beijing, the Chinese officials urged their US counterparts to stop their `provocative actions` in the waterway.

Washington, in response, asserted its belief in the `importance of respect for high seas freedom of navigation` in light of `repeated` Chinese `harassment against lawfully operating Philippine vessels in the South China Sea`.

The US side also stressed the importance of `maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication`, according to the Pentagon`s readout, `to prevent competition from veering into conflict`.-Agencies