Tensions Between Eritrea and Ethiopia Rise as Addis Ababa Seeks Access to the Red Sea

ASMARA - Hostile rhetoric has erupted between Ethiopia and Eritrea over access to the sea, triggering fears of a war. Ethiopia, a landlocked country, is insisting on having unrestricted access to Eritrean sea ports for its own economic well-being.

Last month, Ethiopia's army chief Field Marshall Birhanu said they would fight Eritrea for denying them access to the Red Sea, pointing out that the interests of 130 million Ethiopians cannot be hampered by those of 2 million Eritreans.

"Our population is now 130 million and will grow to 200 million in the next 25 years. How come the interests of two million people [referring to Eritrea] override those of 200 million people?" Birhanu asked on 25 October. "We will strengthen our defence forces, speed up our development, and secure a sea outlet."

Wading into the debate was Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, General Bacha Debele, who two weeks ago stated that Ethiopia will do everything it can to access Eritrean Red Sea ports.

"The question now is not whether Port Assab is ours or not, but how do we get it back?" Ambassador Bacha told the YouTube Channel Addis Paradigm.

However, in a rejoinder on X, formally Twitter, Eritrean minister for information Yemane Meskel has rejected Ethiopia's push, describing it as dangerous, adding that Eritrea has the responsibility of securing its coastline.

"Coastal States bear primary responsibility for the security, management, and stewardship of their own coastlines. Ethiopia, as a landlocked state, cannot assume the role of Viceroy over Eritrea’s sovereign maritime domain.

"Yet, in a predictable pattern, these threats are framed not as genuine calls for regional cooperation but as a pretext for advancing Ethiopian illicit claims. Proponents suggest that Ethiopia’s need to 'protect regional commerce' legitimises a permanent maritime presence along Eritrea’s coast, a reinterpretation that would effectively override Eritrea’s sovereignty".

The harsh war of words coincides with a similar threat issued by Museveni against Kenya. The Ugandan leader warned that his country risked going to war with Kenya to access the Indian Ocean, which is crucial to his country's economic well-being.

In an article, Meskel further accused Ethiopia of meddling in Eritrea's stability, arguing that external aggression would be handled, and added that the Ethiopian foreign affairs minister was mocking the Nakfa principles.

"Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion’s mockery of the Nakfa Principles as a 'syndrome' is revealing. Nakfa embodies self-reliance, discipline, resilience, and national sacrifice, the very values that have allowed Eritrea to maintain stability and sovereignty despite decades of external aggression.

"By dismissing Nakfa as a 'syndrome', Gedion exposes not Eritrea’s shortcomings, but Ethiopia’s discomfort with a neighbour whose discipline, independence, and cohesive national ethos it cannot easily comprehend. Where Medemer remains a rhetorical project, Nakfa is a lived reality: a blueprint of survival, governance, and unwavering defence of the people and the State".

GAROWE ONLINE