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Growing concerns have emerged over the possibility of military engagement among East African neighbours, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as confrontational language has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Has Ethiopian Officials Stated?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for passage to the maritime outlet through Eritrea has triggered a fierce rhetorical conflict.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in last year that his government's sea access was an existential matter, statements that Eritrea dismissed.

Diplomatic connections between the two countries have often been tense. After a decades-long battle for independence, Eritrea, which has a long sea border, legally broke away from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, rendering it without sea access.

Subsequently, a border war broke out in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Current Comments from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have openly claimed control of Eritrean coastal city of Assab – some 60 km from the border - and suggested the wish to take it by force.

In early September, Abiy said the country's "blunder" of being denied passage to the sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "rectified in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to neighboring Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "belonging to Ethiopia" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrea's Reaction to the Threats

In the face of ongoing challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been restricted to brief comments on online platforms from Communications Head Yemane Gebremeskel.

He has rejected Ethiopia's push for access to the Red Sea calling it "risky" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a strategy of claiming back lost territory.

Government spokespeople warned on recently that attempts to justify "obvious provocation" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "limit that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Security Preparations on the Border

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

Nevertheless, in the country, government media has broadcast training completions of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The leader of staff section of the armed forces, General Hachalu, recently said in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a signal to our adversaries".

Historical Origins of the Dispute

For decades from the late 19th century, Eritrea was governed by Italian colonisers.

After the end of Italian rule, it was then controlled by the British administration before turning into a integrated region of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 the ruler terminated this system and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A extended internal conflict occurred, ending with Ethiopia's defeat in the early 1990s. Independence was then endorsed by the population in a plebiscite in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the leadership in Addis Ababa and Eritrea's capital, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their mutual frontier, causing hostilities in 1998.

Although this finished in a peace deal in 2000, it was partially applied, and the both countries remained at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when the Prime Minister made gestures to Eritrea's leader the president. The two agreed to a declaration that the hostilities was over – a decision that gained Abiy the international recognition.

The both administrations were then allies in Ethiopia's previous internal conflict in the northern region.

But relations have since broken down again.