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Growing concerns are present over the chance of military engagement between East African neighbors, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational language has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrean territory has triggered a heated war of words.

PM Abiy Ahmed previously announced in last year that his nation's sea access was an existential matter, statements that Eritrea rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the two countries have regularly been difficult. After a decades-long battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a long sea border, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in 1993, rendering it cut off from the sea.

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

Current Comments from Ethiopia's Officials

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrea's coastal city of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the boundary - and hinted at the wish to take it by force.

Recently, the Prime Minister said the country's "mistake" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrea secession would be "corrected in the future".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that the port was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "using武力".

Eritrean Response to the Statements

Amid continuous warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to concise remarks on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopian requests for sea access labeling it "hazardous" and a "toxic agenda" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of claiming back lost territory.

Eritrean authorities alerted on recently that moves to justify "flagrant aggression" would have significant repercussions for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Movements on the Ground

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

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, government media has displayed training completions of thousands of cadets at multiple army bases.

The leader of personnel division of the armed forces, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, commented lately in an interview that the military was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our opponents".

Historical Background of the Tension

For more than half a century from 1890, the territory was governed by Italian rulers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the British administration before becoming a federated part of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor terminated this arrangement and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long internal conflict ensued, finishing with military reversal in 1991. Independence was then approved by the population in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the exact location of their common border, resulting in war in 1998.

Even though this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the neighbors remained at odds.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made approaches to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The two signed a announcement that the conflict was over – a decision that earned the Prime Minister the international recognition.

The neighboring states were then partners in the country's recent armed struggle in the northern region.

However diplomatic connections have since broken down anew.