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Mounting worries are present regarding the potential of military engagement between East African neighbours, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile discourse has ratcheted up in the last month.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrea has triggered a intense verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader previously announced in last year that his government's access to the sea was an crucial concern, statements that Eritrea dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have regularly been difficult. After a decades-long struggle for freedom, the Eritrean state, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) Red Sea coastline, officially seceded from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it landlocked.

In 1998, a military clash started in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Recent Statements from Ethiopian Leadership

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have openly claimed ownership of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – about 60km from the boundary - and hinted at the desire to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "blunder" of being denied passage to the sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "rectified tomorrow".

Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopian property" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrean Answer to the Statements

Despite persistent challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to short statements on social media from Information Minister the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea calling it "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "irredentism" – a strategy of retaking previous domains.

The information ministry alerted on mid-September that moves to legitimise "flagrant aggression" would have major implications for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Ground

So far, there are no reports of significant troop deployments in the boundary zones between the two countries.

Nonetheless, in the country, state television has broadcast graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

The head of personnel division of the armed forces, the officer, stated recently in an discussion that the army was in a "secure situation" as "many thousands of youths" were entering service, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Historical Background of the Tension

For decades from 1890, the territory was ruled by colonial powers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then controlled by the British military before turning into a associated territory of Ethiopia.

However in 1962 the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this arrangement and Eritrea became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A thirty-year armed struggle ensued, concluding with military reversal in 1991. Independence was then endorsed by the population in a referendum in 1993.

Temporarily in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their shared boundary, causing conflict in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the both countries stayed at odds.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The both leaders agreed to a announcement that the conflict was over – a decision that earned Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then allies in Ethiopia's 2020-2022 internal conflict in Tigray.

Yet diplomatic connections have since broken down anew.