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Increasing concerns have emerged regarding the possibility of military engagement between East African countries, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile rhetoric has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Did Ethiopian Officials Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's calls for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has provoked a fierce verbal exchange.

Ethiopian Prime Minister first openly declared in 2023 that his country's access to the sea was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Ties between the two countries have often been tense. Following a decades-long struggle for freedom, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in 1993, making it without sea access.

Subsequently, a border war broke out in which numerous people lost their lives.

Current Remarks from Ethiopian Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed sovereignty of Eritrea's southern port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and suggested the wish to seize it militarily.

Recently, Abiy said Ethiopia's "error" of losing access to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea's separation would be "corrected in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "using武力".

Eritrean Response to the Claims

Amid continuous challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been restricted to concise remarks on X from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for sea access describing it as "hazardous" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a approach of claiming back former lands.

The information ministry cautioned on 16 September that attempts to legitimise "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Ground

So far, there are little evidence of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the neighboring states.

However, in the country, national TV has shown graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The head of human resources department of the armed forces, General Hachalu, stated recently in an discussion that the army was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of young people" were entering service, which he said was "a message to our opponents".

Historical Origins of the Dispute

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, Eritrea was governed by Italian colonisers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the British administration before evolving into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

But in the early 1960s the ruler terminated this system and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended civil war followed, finishing with the government's loss in 1991. Sovereignty was then approved by voters in a plebiscite in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their common border, resulting in war in 1998.

Though this concluded in a truce in 2000, it was partially applied, and the neighbors stayed at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President the president. The two agreed to a declaration that the conflict was over – a move that gained Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then cooperators in the country's previous internal conflict in the northern region.

But diplomatic connections have later worsened once more.