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Increasing concerns exist regarding the potential of military engagement between East African neighbors, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile rhetoric has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for passage to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has provoked a fierce rhetorical conflict.

PM Abiy Ahmed initially stated publicly in the previous year that his country's maritime access was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrean authorities ignored.

Ties between the both governments have frequently been strained. After a prolonged fight for sovereignty, the Eritrean state, which has a long Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, rendering it cut off from the sea.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict erupted in which numerous people were killed.

Current Comments from Ethiopian Leadership

Abiy and military leader the army commander have openly claimed control of Eritrea's maritime facility of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and hinted at the wish to take it by force.

Recently, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "rectified tomorrow".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrean Reaction to the Statements

Amid persistent threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been limited to brief comments on social media from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea labeling it "risky" and a "negative policy" of "expansionism" – a policy of claiming back previous domains.

The information ministry warned on mid-September that moves to validate "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Movements on the Region

There have been few indications of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the both nations.

However, in Ethiopia, government media has broadcast completion events of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The leader of human resources department of the defense force, General Hachalu, stated recently in an conversation that the army was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Previous Roots of the Tension

For decades from the late 19th century, Eritrea was administered by Italian rulers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then administered by the British military before becoming a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I ended this arrangement and Eritrea became fully incorporated into Ethiopia.

A three-decade long armed struggle ensued, concluding with the government's loss in 1991. Sovereignty was then confirmed by the population in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the specific demarcation of their common border, leading to hostilities in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors continued at in dispute.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The two signed a declaration that the war was over – a action that earned the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

The both administrations were then cooperators in the country's 2020-2022 internal conflict in the northern region.

Yet relations have later worsened once more.