Displaying items by tag: Asia

Imagine you’re a Christian family in a Hindu village. It’s very likely neighbours are socially boycotting you. Even when there isn't a lockdown, you’re not allowed to buy from the local shop or draw water from the local well. You get food and daily necessities from nearby Christians or go to villages where the opposition isn’t so strong. But now your village is in lockdown. You’ve lost your income. Aid is being distributed to the local shop or the local village committee and they won’t give you the food, not even when you have a food ration coupon. The chances are that police won’t listen to Christian complaints and even accuse you of trying to convert Hindus or even ‘Don’t follow Jesus. Just do what everybody else does.’ Please pray for God to soften the hearts of those denying essential food and aid to Christians.

Iran intends to build a military base in the Indian Ocean to protect fishing and commercial vessels from piracy and ‘foreign ships’ (referring to the US-led multinational naval task force currently protecting Gulf shipping from Iranian interference). A new agreement will give China access to Iranian ports. China is reportedly planning to build a new military base near Iran’s Chabahar port to enable the Chinese navy to monitor the activities of the US navy, which protects shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important economic waterways. Any expansion in Iranian and Chinese military activity in the region would impact on the jointly-administered US / UK base on the island of Diego Garcia, one of the most important US military assets in the region. Tehran also plans to sign a $400 billion trade deal with China, which includes closer military cooperation between them to counter ‘Washington's dominance’.

After fleeing from North Korea to China, Prisoner 42 was captured and sent to a North Korean prison camp, where she spent one year in solitary confinement. Guards shaved her head and stripped her. Each morning when they called for her, she crawled out of a door flap, typically used for dogs or cats, and kept her head bowed low because she was not allowed to make eye contact with the guards. They would ask her the same questions, ‘Why were you in China? Who did you meet? Did you go to church? Did you have a Bible? Did you meet any South Koreans? Are you a Christian?’ She lied to stay alive. She was beaten and kicked daily. She said,’ It hurts the most when they hit my ears. My ears ring for hours, sometimes days’. She was later sent to a re-education camp where she met other secret Christians. After two years she was released from detention.

What began as an activity restriction in South Korea is turning into an assault on religious freedom. In June, police stopped Voice of the Martyrs Korea from sending Bibles across the border to North Korea. Today, the ministry and its co-founder, Eric Foley, face criminal investigations. ‘Balloon launching has been difficult since we began in 2005. However, now there is a large scale effort to declare balloon launching illegal’, Foley explains. ‘It’s unclear, at this point, how things will go.’ He said the government’s motives and methods remain dubious, as launching has become a deeply political subject. He added, ‘North Korea made a very public offensive against balloon launching that was adopted by South Korean authorities. This was the impetus to say it is illegal, not through new laws, but through the application of other laws. The issue is not about balloon launching; it’s about the legal right to do private ministry work outside government mediation.’

On 6 July, Azerbaijan’s president said peace talks with Armenia to settle the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict had stalled. He called talks between the countries' foreign ministers ‘pointless’. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has long been trying to mediate a settlement of the conflict, which dates back to the 1990s. On 12 July clashes involving tanks and artillery erupted again on the border between the two ex-Soviet republics. On 14 July Azerbaijan's military reported four deaths, but said it had destroyed an Armenian fortification and artillery, while Armenia had not reported any deaths on its side in the clashes. Azerbaijan’s president said, ‘Armenia's political and military leadership will bear the entire responsibility for the provocation’, while Armenia accused its neighbour of ‘using artillery in an attack aimed at capturing Armenian positions’.

Six Asian countries have competing claims on the South China Sea, but only China has backed its claims with artificial island-building, military bases and naval patrols. The USA has not taken sides in the territorial dispute, but sends military ships and planes near disputed islands, for ‘freedom of navigation’ operations to help key shipping and air routes. Both countries have accused each other of ‘militarising’ the area, and have long been at odds over maritime freedom. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has now called China's pursuit of offshore resources ‘completely unlawful’, condemning Beijing's ‘campaign of bullying to control’ disputed waters that are potentially energy-rich with reserves of natural resources around them in a shipping route and major fishing ground. There are fears that the area is becoming a flashpoint, with potentially serious global consequences of a military response. See https://www.foxnews.com/world/china-accuses-us-confrontation-south-china-sea

On 11 July the UN approved a new round of cross-border aid to Syria through the Turkish border into militant-controlled Idlib province - providing one year of foreign aid to the northwest region of Syria and critical supplies to over one million Syrians. Millions more civilians within opposition-controlled areas rely heavily on such aid to survive. Throughout the war Syrian Christians have played a vital role within their communities, providing a lifeline to those in need. Many of them are within government-controlled areas, which are more heavily impacted by sanctions. If foreign aid to these areas was abolished, it would limit the resources used by Christians to provide hope to their communities. Pray for the international Christian community to seek new ways to bring about resolution and peace in this war-weary nation.

Rejoice that during lockdown IJM Philippines has assisted local police on 16 online sexual exploitation rescue operations, bringing to safety 57 children and vulnerable adults, including a three-month-old baby, and seeing eight suspects arrested. In South Asia IJM had another successful rescue operation at a construction site. Officials filed all the necessary police reports within 24 hours - a huge moment of progress demonstrating their knowledge and political will. IJM were also blessed to see the survivors get their release certificates and other entitlements quickly so that they could return home swiftly. Pray for their ongoing recovery back at home, especially in the disorienting first few weeks of freedom.

‘Annexation’ is actually Israel extending its civil rule over areas that are under its military rule. Whether Israel does this over a small area of what is in President Trump's peace plan, or over all of it, makes no substantive difference to nations and international organisations who are angry about what Israel might do. As this process drags on, it gets more confusing and the headlines become more depressing. Lord, guide Israel to know how you want them to pray and act so that You alone receive the glory (Psalm 115:1-3). The IDF and Israel's other security forces are preparing for an increase of violence over annexation. It is not known if this will lead to another intifada with many deaths, or just a brief display of anger followed by a let's-go-back-to-work attitude from the Palestinians. Currently the security forces are stopping an average of three terror attacks a day.

This prayer update is based on input from a contact of International Prayer Connection who is living in the region (for the full letter click the ‘More’ button). ‘Covid-19 spreads like wildfire and it looks as if the whole country is penetrated by this virus. We received reports that it has now reached the mountainous areas, whereas previously it was mostly contained in the larger cities. Many are dying because of lack of medical facilities. People are poor and cannot afford to buy oxygen cylinders. Many brothers and sisters, expats and locals, have become quite seriously ill. Some are suffering from tiredness, anxiety and depression.’ The UN said the new coronavirus outbreak is casting ‘a huge shadow’ over Afghan daily life. Under the government’s leadership, the UN is supporting a coordinated response that includes setting up a nationwide network of laboratories and the provision of personal protective equipment.