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Growing worries exist regarding the chance of military engagement among East African neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as confrontational discourse has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's demands for access to the sea coast through Eritrea has provoked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader first openly declared in the previous year that his nation's maritime access was an existential matter, statements that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Ties between the both governments have regularly been difficult. After a long-standing fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a military clash broke out in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Latest Remarks from Ethiopia's Leadership

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated ownership of Eritrea's maritime facility of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and suggested the intention to seize it militarily.

In early September, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea's separation would be "corrected tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrean Reaction to the Statements

Amid ongoing challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted to short statements on social media from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for sea access labeling it "risky" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a strategy of claiming back former lands.

The information ministry warned on 16 September that efforts to validate "obvious provocation" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Ground

Currently, there are few indications of large-scale army activities in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

Nonetheless, in the country, government media has broadcast training completions of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

The director of human resources department of the military, General Hachalu, commented lately in an discussion that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "numerous of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries".

Past Roots of the Dispute

For over fifty years from 1890, the territory was administered by colonial powers.

Following World War II, it was then managed by the UK forces before becoming a federated part of Ethiopia.

Yet in the early 1960s the ruler cancelled this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A extended civil war followed, ending with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Independence was then endorsed by the population in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their shared boundary, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Though this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors remained at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The both leaders signed a announcement that the hostilities was over – a move that won Abiy the prestigious award.

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

But ties have subsequently deteriorated anew.