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Increasing apprehensions are present over the possibility of armed conflict among East African countries, the Ethiopian government and the Eritrean government, as hostile rhetoric has escalated in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Declared?

Landlocked Ethiopia's requests for entry to the Red Sea through Eritrean territory has triggered a heated war of words.

The Ethiopian leader initially stated publicly in the previous year that his government's sea access was an vital issue, comments that Eritrean authorities rejected.

Diplomatic connections between the two countries have regularly been difficult. After a long-standing battle for independence, the Eritrean state, which has a long Red Sea coastline, legally broke away from Ethiopian rule in 1993, leaving it without sea access.

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

Current Comments from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and military leader the army commander have openly claimed control of Eritrea's maritime facility of Assab – approximately 60 kilometers from the frontier - and hinted at the desire to capture it through military means.

Recently, the Prime Minister said Ethiopia's "mistake" of being denied passage to the sea as a due to Eritrea's separation would be "corrected in the future".

The Ethiopian envoy to Kenya, retired Gen Bacha Debele, said that Assab was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be given back "using武力".

Eritrea's Response to the Threats

Amid continuous warnings from Ethiopian officials, Eritrea's reaction has been limited to short statements on social media from Information Minister the minister.

The minister has dismissed Ethiopia's demand for maritime entry describing it as "risky" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a strategy of retaking lost territory.

Government spokespeople alerted on recently that moves to validate "blatant hostility" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its regional partners and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Military Movements on the Border

There have been few indications of major military movements in the border areas between the both nations.

However, in the country, government media has shown graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

The director of staff section of the armed forces, General Hachalu, recently said in an interview that the defense forces was in a "strong stance" as "tens of thousands of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a warning to our adversaries".

Past Background of the Tension

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

After Italy's defeat, it was then administered by the British administration before evolving into a federated part of the Ethiopian empire.

Yet in 1962 Emperor Haile Selassie I cancelled this system and Eritrea became totally absorbed into the Ethiopian state.

A three-decade long armed struggle occurred, concluding with military reversal in 1991. Autonomy was then endorsed by voters in a vote in 1993.

Briefly in the 1990s, there were friendly connections between the governments in Ethiopia's capital and Asmara, but they clashed over the specific demarcation of their common border, resulting in conflict in 1998.

Even though this ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the both countries continued at odds.

This ended in 2018, when Abiy made approaches to Eritrea's leader Isaias Afwerki. The two signed a announcement that the hostilities was over – a action that gained Abiy the prestigious award.

The two governments were then allies in the country's recent civil war in Tigray.

However diplomatic connections have subsequently deteriorated anew.