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Increasing concerns exist about the chance of military engagement among East African neighbors, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as aggressive rhetoric has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, requests for access to the Red Sea through Eritrea has sparked a intense war of words.

PM Abiy Ahmed initially stated publicly in last year that his government's access to the sea was an vital issue, remarks that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the both governments have frequently been strained. After a decades-long battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) maritime frontage, formally separated from Ethiopian rule in the early 1990s, leaving it without sea access.

Five years later, a territorial conflict started in which numerous people died.

Latest Comments from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and army chief the army commander have publicly asserted control of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and suggested the desire to take it by force.

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

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

Eritrean Response to the Claims

In the face of ongoing warnings from Ethiopia, Asmara's position has been limited to concise remarks on X from Information Minister Yemane G..

He has rejected Ethiopia's demand for sea access calling it "risky" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a policy of claiming back former lands.

Government spokespeople alerted on recently that attempts to justify "flagrant aggression" would have serious consequences for the Ethiopian government and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Activities on the Border

Currently, there are little evidence of major military movements in the border areas between the both nations.

However, in Ethiopia, government media has displayed training completions of many recruits at multiple army bases.

The leader of staff section of the military, General Hachalu, recently said in an interview that the military was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a message to our enemies".

Previous Origins of the Dispute

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

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

Yet in the early 1960s the Ethiopian emperor cancelled this agreement and the region became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A extended internal conflict ensued, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Independence was then confirmed by voters in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the authorities in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they fell out over the precise positioning of their mutual frontier, leading to conflict in 1998.

Even though this concluded in a truce in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries continued at loggerheads.

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrean President the president. The two signed a announcement that the hostilities was over – a decision that gained the Prime Minister the prestigious award.

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

But ties have since broken down again.