Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed claimed on Oct. 13, 2023, that his landlocked country has a right to demand maritime access to a Red Sea port from its neighbors in the Horn of Africa – first through diplomatic means, he said, or by force if necessary.
In confrontational language, Abiy all but threatened conflict should Ethiopia be denied what he called the country’s intrinsic right to waterway expansion. He has since sought to soften his comments, but the remarks have nonetheless rattled the region.
Such a move would help Ethiopia to reassert itself as the dominant player in the Horn of Africa, located in East Africa along a strategic maritime trade route. Ethiopia has been landlocked since coastal Eritrea broke away and became independent in 1993 after a decadeslong war.
Abiy, a Nobel Peace Prize winner once acclaimed for promoting peace and international cooperation but later accused of being a belligerent warmaker, has alarmed countries in the region with his recent remarks. Abiy invoked a 19th-century Abyssinian warrior, Ras Alula Aba Nega, who had proclaimed the Red Sea as Ethiopia’s “natural boundary.” The concern is in attempting to assert itself, Ethiopia might risk reigniting a conflict.
Abiy’s comments come at a time when Ethiopia is in a period of soul-searching, caught between the paths of democracy and authoritarianism. They also signal a potential willingness by Abiy to break with international norms amid a growing shift away from once welcoming powers in the West.
His rhetoric echoes ambitious geopolitical powers like China and Russia, both of which have shown a willingness to use military force to dominate strategic waters – as evidenced by Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014 and China’s military posturing in the South China Sea.
They also come at a time when Abiy struggles to unite Ethiopia behind a single ideological nationalism and is unable to contain insurgencies by two ethnic groups – the Amhara paramilitary organization Fano and the Oromo Liberation Army – both of whom hold historical grievances against the Ethiopian government and strive for greater political self-determination.
Africa’s ties with the major powers
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed claimed on Oct. 13, 2023, that his landlocked country has a right to demand maritime access to a Red Sea port from its neighbors in the Horn of Africa – first through diplomatic means, he said, or by force if necessary.
In confrontational language, Abiy all but threatened conflict should Ethiopia be denied what he called the country’s intrinsic right to waterway expansion. He has since sought to soften his comments, but the remarks have nonetheless rattled the region.
Such a move would help Ethiopia to reassert itself as the dominant player in the Horn of Africa, located in East Africa along a strategic maritime trade route. Ethiopia has been landlocked since coastal Eritrea broke away and became independent in 1993 after a decadeslong war.
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