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Mounting worries exist over the potential of military engagement between East African neighbors, Ethiopia and the Eritrean government, as hostile language has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for access to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a intense war of words.

PM Abiy Ahmed previously announced in the previous year that his country's sea access was an vital issue, statements that Eritrea ignored.

Ties between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a long-standing battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a extensive maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, leaving it cut off from the sea.

In 1998, a territorial conflict started in which over a hundred thousand people died.

Recent Statements from Ethiopia's Officials

Abiy and army chief General Birhanu Jula have directly stated ownership of Eritrean southern port of the port of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and implied the intention to capture it through military means.

On 1 September, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of losing access to the Red Sea as a due to Eritrean independence would be "corrected soon".

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

Eritrea's Reaction to the Threats

Despite continuous challenges from Ethiopia, Eritrea's response has been limited to brief comments on online platforms from Communications Head the minister.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for sea access describing it as "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "territorial claims" – a strategy of reclaiming lost territory.

Government spokespeople alerted on recently that moves to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Ground

So far, there are no reports of major military movements in the frontier regions between the both nations.

However, in Ethiopia, government media has shown graduation ceremonies of numerous trainees at different defense facilities.

The director of human resources department of the armed forces, General Hachalu, stated recently in an conversation that the army was in a "secure situation" as "tens of thousands of recruits" were enlisting, which he said was "a signal to our opponents".

Previous Background of the Tension

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, Eritrea was administered by Italian colonisers.

Following Italy's defeat, it was then managed by the British administration before evolving into a integrated region of Ethiopia.

Yet in the early 1960s Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this system and the region became completely integrated into Ethiopia.

A extended armed struggle ensued, ending with military reversal in the early 1990s. Autonomy was then confirmed by voters in a vote in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were good relations between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they disagreed over the specific demarcation of their shared boundary, leading to hostilities in 1998.

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

This situation improved in 2018, when Abiy made gestures to Eritrean President President Isaias. The two agreed to a declaration that the war was finished – a decision that won the Prime Minister the Nobel Peace Prize.

The neighboring states were then cooperators in Ethiopia's previous armed struggle in Tigray.

However ties have later worsened anew.