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Growing apprehensions are present about the potential of military engagement between East African neighbours, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as confrontational rhetoric has ratcheted up in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Stated?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has provoked a heated verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in 2023 that his government's maritime access was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Ties between the two countries have regularly been difficult. After a long-standing battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a long maritime frontage, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, making it landlocked.

Subsequently, a territorial conflict erupted in which more than 100,000 people died.

Current Statements from Ethiopian Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have publicly asserted ownership of Eritrea's maritime facility of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and suggested the desire to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of being denied passage to the Red Sea as a because of Eritrea secession would be "corrected in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, ex-military officer Bacha, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "by force".

Eritrean Response to the Claims

In the face of persistent threats from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's response has been limited to concise remarks on social media from Information Minister Yemane G..

Officials have denied Ethiopia's demand for access to the Red Sea labeling it "risky" and a "toxic agenda" of "irredentism" – a approach of retaking lost territory.

Government spokespeople cautioned on recently that attempts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Movements on the Region

There have been few indications of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the two countries.

However, in the country, state television has broadcast completion events of numerous trainees at multiple army bases.

The director of staff section of the military, Lt Gen Hachalu Sheleme, stated recently in an interview that the army was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of youths" were joining it, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries".

Past Background of the Tension

For more than half a century from 1890, the territory was ruled by Italian colonisers.

After Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the British military before turning into a federated part of Ethiopia.

Yet in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I terminated this system and the region became totally absorbed into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year civil war followed, finishing with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Sovereignty was then approved by Eritreans in a vote in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Asmara, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, causing conflict in 1998.

Although this ended in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the two nations continued at in dispute.

This ended in 2018, when the Prime Minister made overtures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The two agreed to a declaration that the war was over – a move that won Abiy the international recognition.

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

However ties have later worsened anew.