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Growing apprehensions are present about the potential of military engagement among East African neighbors, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as confrontational language has ratcheted up in recent weeks.

What Has Ethiopia Declared?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, demands for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has sparked a heated verbal exchange.

The Ethiopian leader previously announced in the previous year that his nation's access to the sea was an existential matter, remarks that Eritrean authorities dismissed.

Ties between the both governments have regularly been difficult. Following a prolonged fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a extensive maritime frontage, officially seceded from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, leaving it without sea access.

Subsequently, a military clash broke out in which numerous people died.

Latest Statements from Ethiopian Officials

Abiy and military leader Field Marshal Birhanu Jula have directly stated sovereignty of Eritrea's coastal city of the port of Assab – some 60 km from the frontier - and hinted at the intention to seize it militarily.

Recently, Abiy said the country's "mistake" of being denied passage to the sea as a because of Eritrean independence would be "addressed soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopian property" and would be restored "by force".

Eritrean Answer to the Threats

Despite continuous warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been confined to short statements on social media from Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.

Officials have denied Ethiopia's push for maritime entry calling it "hazardous" and a "harmful plan" of "expansionism" – a approach of reclaiming previous domains.

The information ministry warned on mid-September that efforts to justify "blatant hostility" would have significant repercussions for the Ethiopian government and its neighbors and is a "boundary that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Activities on the Border

Currently, there are no reports of major military movements in the frontier regions between the neighboring states.

However, in Ethiopia, government media has broadcast completion events of numerous trainees at various military training camps.

The leader of human resources department of the armed forces, General Hachalu, stated recently in an conversation that the defense forces was in a "secure situation" as "numerous of young people" were joining it, which he said was "a warning to our enemies".

Historical Roots of the Tension

For over fifty years from 1890, Eritrea was governed by colonial powers.

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

However in 1962 the ruler ended this arrangement and the region became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long internal conflict followed, ending with the government's loss in 1991. Autonomy was then approved by Eritreans in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were good relations between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they disagreed over the precise positioning of their shared boundary, causing war in 1998.

Though this ended in a truce in 2000, it was incompletely executed, and the two nations remained at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The two endorsed a statement that the hostilities was over – a action that earned Abiy the prestigious award.

The neighboring states were then partners in Ethiopia's previous civil war in Tigray.

But ties have since broken down again.