Joint Statement by the ASEAN Defence Ministers on the Tragic Plane Crash in Lao PDR

We, the Defence Ministers of the Member States of the Association Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), met in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar on 20 May 2014.

We express our deepest condolences and sympathies to the Government and People of the Lao Peoples' Democratic Republic on the tragic plane crash in Xieng Khouang province on 17 May 2014 which had taken the lives of several Lao leaders and senior government officials.

We are saddened by the passing of our colleague, Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Lieutenant General Douangchay Phichith and his wife Madam Thanda Phichith. Lieutenant General Douangchay Phichith had been part of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) since its inauguration in 2006. His passing is a great loss not only to Lao PDR and the Lao Ministry of National Defense but also to the ADMM. Our thoughts are with the people of Lao PDR, as well as the family of Lieutenant General Douangchay Phichith, during this time of sorrow.