and said it would ensure Ethiopia has “access to the sea for their naval forces”.
You get sea access and your first thought is to use it for a non existent navy?
TRADE! Ethiopia needs earn money, not fight wars.
A navy is used to protect trade. It’s especially important in that region too.
Yeah Somalia, the main source of piracy in the world, is mentioned not only in the article but in the little preview blurb also.
The need the navy to protect their coast line! Ethiopia is at risk of seaborne invasion.
Ethiopia is land locked
I’m honestly a bit surprised they didn’t negotiate access directly with Eritrea.
Here are two good videos I watched on the subject if youre interested.
The relationship between the two countries is less than optimal right now
I’ve always found it odd that Ethiopia doesn’t have any coast, they’re a historic power and the coast is right there, you’d think they would have just taken a bit. Djibouti couldn’t have been that hard to conquer.
Ethiopia DID have a coast. It was what is now known as the country of Eritrea. They were forced to be part of the country after WW2 in 1950, and ignored the wishes of the people to remain independent. Then by 1961 a war for independence started and lasted for 30 years. It ended with the Eritrean forces taking the Ethiopian capital and winning the war capture the flag style, but with guns.
As far as Djibouti, they are probably the best example of American modern imperialism. The country enjoys a stable currency by using an American backed currency. In exchange the US has their Horn of Africa base there. Because the country is so small but the base has so many troops and the US pays to lease the land, the US military ends up making up a little bit over 10% of their entire GDP. This is the base that launches the anti-pirate operations for the region, not only providing security for Djibouti, but security for the entire HoA. Say what you want about the USA and their modern imperialism, but the only thing anyone in that region agrees with is that they love the US troops there and the mission they do.
If Ethiopia wanted to take Djibouti, not only would that piss off literally every other country in the region, they would also have to go through the USA to take it. Good luck with that.
Yeah I know Eritrea used to be the Ethiopian coast, just figured that they would have held on to part of it after the war either through military force or negotiation.
