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Increasing worries exist over the possibility of military engagement involving East African neighbors, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as aggressive discourse has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for access to the sea coast through Eritrea has provoked a fierce war of words.

Ethiopian Prime Minister initially stated publicly in the previous year that his country's maritime access was an existential matter, comments that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the neighboring nations have often been tense. After a long-standing battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a long maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it cut off from the sea.

Five years later, a territorial conflict started in which more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

Recent Comments from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed control of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and suggested the wish to take it by force.

In early September, Abiy said Ethiopia's "blunder" of losing entry to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "addressed soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be restored "through military action".

Eritrean Response to the Claims

Despite persistent threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to short statements on online platforms from Communications Head the minister.

He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for sea access calling it "dangerous" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a approach of reclaiming previous domains.

Government spokespeople cautioned on mid-September that attempts to validate "blatant hostility" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Preparations on the Ground

Currently, there are few indications of major military movements in the boundary zones between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in Ethiopia, state television has displayed graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The director of staff section of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, recently said in an interview that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries".

Historical Origins of the Conflict

For over fifty years from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian colonisers.

Following World War II, it was then managed by the British administration before becoming a associated territory of the Ethiopian empire.

But in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this arrangement and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A extended civil war followed, concluding with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then confirmed by the population in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the exact location of their common border, leading to war in 1998.

Although this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors continued at in dispute.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The two agreed to a announcement that the conflict was over – a decision that gained the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

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

But ties have since broken down again.