Taiwan's three main political parties have agreed to authorise the government to sign U.S. agreements for four arms sales packages, following a deadline of March 26 for these agreements. The agreement comes as the US is the most important international backer and supplier of Taiwan, despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties. The government has been trying to raise $40 billion in additional defence spending, but opposition parties argue these proposals are unclear and cannot be expected to be approved. The defence ministry has warned that if Taipei fails to sign the agreements, it would lose its place in the production and delivery queue.