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Increasing worries have emerged regarding the possibility of military engagement among East African neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as confrontational rhetoric has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense rhetorical conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in the previous year that his government's maritime access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the two countries have regularly been difficult. After a decades-long battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopia in 1993, rendering it without sea access.

In 1998, a military clash started in which numerous people were killed.

Recent Remarks from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and suggested the desire to capture it through military means.

In early September, Abiy said the country's "blunder" of losing access to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrea secession would be "rectified in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrea's Answer to the Statements

Despite ongoing challenges from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been limited to brief comments on social media from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry describing it as "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a policy of claiming back former lands.

Government spokespeople warned on recently that moves to justify "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Ground

There have been few indications of large-scale army activities in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

Nonetheless, in the country, national TV has shown completion events of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The leader of human resources department of the armed forces, General Hachalu, stated recently in an interview that the army was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Historical Background of the Tension

For over fifty years from 1890, the territory was governed by Italian rulers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the UK forces before becoming a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

However in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor ended this arrangement and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long internal conflict followed, concluding with military reversal in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then endorsed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were good relations between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the exact location of their common border, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Even though this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors stayed at in dispute.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrean President the president. The two agreed to a announcement that the war was over – a move that gained Abiy the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then partners in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 civil war in Tigray.

Yet ties have subsequently deteriorated once more.