Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma has doubled down on Nairobi's call for an out-of-court settlement in the raging maritime dispute between Kenya and neighbouring Somalia.

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Speaking on Friday while fielding questions, the CS warned that the maritime dispute between the two countries would only compound the fragility of the region.

Ms Juma said that Kenya was willing to act within the confines of an African Union Council decision that called on the two countries to pursue diplomatic engagement.

"A lurking risk that could complicate the fragility of this region, of course, is the current maritime border dispute between us and Somalia, " the Foreign Affairs CS said. (0:30-0:37)

She, however, said that Kenya would deploy lawyers to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to argue its case should Somalia reject the diplomatic offer to engage.

Nairobi is still in the process of recruiting a legal team to represent it in the high profile case.

Somalia took Kenya to the ICJ, escalating the tensions between the two neighbours.

Diplomacy gurus have expressed fears that the tensions triggered by the maritime dispute could have serious implications on the security of the region.

Kenya is involved in an ongoing military effort in war-torn Somalia in a bid to deal with the Al-Shabaab menace and restore order into Somalia.