Speakers

Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla joined the National Defence Academy in Jan 1978 and was commissioned in the Indian Navy on 01 Jan 1982. On completion of his midshipman training he was awarded the `Sword of Honour’ for being the outstanding midshipman of his course. Over the course of his distinguished career, he has commanded five warships, including the aircraft carrier, INS Viraat and the Indian Navy’s Western Fleet. His prominent ashore appointments include: Defence Attaché in the Embassy of India, Jakarta; Senior Instructor (Navy) at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington; Naval Assistant to CNS; Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Foreign Cooperation & Intelligence); Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Policy & Plans); Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet; Director General Naval Operations; Chief of Personnel (Human Resources); and the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Navy’s Southern Command, from where he superannuated on 30 November 2021, after four decades of distinguished service to his country.

Vice Admiral Chawla attended the Royal Naval Staff Course at Greenwich, London, in 1995 where he was awarded the Pelican Prize for being the most outstanding student and also completed his MA in Defence Studies from King’s College. During his tenure in Jakarta, he authored a paper on the ‘East Timor Crisis – Opportunities for India’ and also catalyzed the signing of the India-Indonesia Defence Agreement in Feb 2001. He attended the Naval Higher Command Course in 2003 where he was awarded the inaugural CNS Gold Medal for his dissertation on the ‘Navy’s Role in Foreign Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region’, based on which a dedicated Foreign Cooperation organization was instituted in Naval HQs. He was the coordinating author of ‘Freedom to Use the Seas – India’s Maritime Military Strategy’ in 2006, which was revised and re-issued under his guidance in 2016 as ‘Supremacy at Sea for Influence on Land – India’s Maritime Security Strategy’. He attended the 48th National Defence College course in 2008 and was awarded a book prize for his dissertation on ‘India’s Maritime Strategy 2025’. He completed his PhD on ‘The Role of Maritime Power in China’s Grand Strategy’ from Bombay University in 2022. He has also carried out a number of Joint studies and authored several significant reports for the Indian Armed Forces.

He has participated in Op Pawan in Sri Lanka in 1989 while on board INS Arnala and was commended for gallantry. He was awarded the Nausena Medal in 2003 while in command of INS Kora during Operation Parakram. He was conferred the Vishisht Seva Medal on 26 Jan 13 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal on 26 Jan 2015 for distinguished service. He was conferred with the honorary title of Aide-De-Camp to President of India in 01 Dec 2019. He was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service of the highest order on 26 Jan 2020. A keen environmentalist, he was awarded the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award for 2020.

An active contributor to various defence journals, he is currently an Eminent Resource Faculty for the Rashtriya Raksha University and a Council Member of the United Services Institute, besides being on the board of several other think tanks. He is also involved in various social and environmental initiatives. A prolific writer and speaker, he has penned several articles related to defence strategy, maritime and procurement issues in various national and international journals and speaks regularly at webinars and seminars related to maritime issues. His book titled “Maritime Power in China’s Grand Strategy” is under publication by Routledge Publishers.