The Somali Ministry of Defense has denied that Ethiopian forces are participating in a military exercise scheduled to take place off the coast of Somalia, and it is known that the Ethiopian government is very interested in participating in the exercise.
During a recent meeting of the East African Council of Foreign Ministers in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian Ministry of Defense officially presented documents showing that the Ethiopian Navy intends to participate in military exercises to be held off the coast of Somalia.
These documents, which Ethiopia submitted to the conference participants, clearly showed the Ethiopian Navy’s plan to take advantage of training opportunities in Somali waters, which came as a great surprise to the Somali government.
The Somali Minister of Defense, Ahmed Moalim Fiqi, reacted quickly to the plan, saying that the Somali government has already lodged an official complaint.
“We cannot accept a landlocked country operating off our coast. Somalia has territorial, maritime and air sovereignty. Ethiopia’s participation in these exercises directly contradicts international rules and national maritime protection regulations,” said Minister Fiqi.
The minister also pointed out that Ethiopia, a landlocked country, has no legal right to operate or participate in military exercises in another country’s waters, especially without full consent from the host government, which Somalia has clearly denied.
This new dispute comes at a time when it was previously reported that there were talks and agreements between Somalia and Ethiopia regarding multi-faceted cooperation, especially in the areas of security and trade. However, Ethiopia’s participation in military exercises off the coast of Somalia has already raised new doubts about the true purpose of these agreements.
Somalia has previously warned that it will not allow Ethiopia to use its ports or Somali waters to reach the sea, without proper legal procedures and formal consent.
Meanwhile, regional analysts say this could strain relations between the two countries and reignite recent political and strategic disputes.
Although Ethiopia is a landlocked country, it has been making efforts in recent years to gain formal access to the sea, and has already signed agreements with several countries, including Djibouti and Sudan, to use their seaports.
These efforts are believed to be part of a broader strategy by Ethiopia to overcome its maritime constraints, seeing maritime access as the key to future economic development and security.
