Vice Admiral Anil Chopra

Vice Admiral Anil Chopra

former Distinguished Fellow, International Security and Maritime Studies

Vice Admiral Anil Chopra is a former Commander-in-Chief of both the operational commands of the Indian Navy i.e. the Western Naval Command, and the Eastern Naval Command; as well as a former Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. He has also commanded the Western Fleet, and the aircraft carrier, INS Viraat. As Assistant Chief of Naval Staff(Policy and Plans), and earlier as Principal Director Naval Plans, he was extensively associated with the Navy’s Long-Term Force Structure and Financial Planning. As member of the apex Defence Acquisition Council for three years, he was involved with the ongoing evolution of the Defence Procurement Procedure.  He has also been a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council of the U.S. in Washington D.C. Admiral Chopra retired in 2015, after forty years of distinguished service.
Expertise

Indian Ocean, Indian Navy, Defence Studies, Maritime Studies, International Security

Last modified: January 4, 2018

Recent projects

malabar-pti-2 Courtesy: PTI
20 July 2017 Gateway House

Malabar 2017: strengthening the freedom of navigation

In a special podcast, Vice Admiral (retd.) Anil Chopra, Distinguished Fellow for International Security and Maritime Studies at Gateway House, shares his insights into this years recently concluded Malabar Exercise, examining the inclusion of Japan and potentially Australia, while detailing the geopolitical implications of these exercises.
Defence paper cover Courtesy: Wikipedia
19 January 2017 Gateway House

India-EU: defence cooperation and the role of industry

European defence companies can contribute significantly to India’s military modernisation under the ‘Make in India’ campaign. But before this can happen they will have to deepen their interactions in the country at the political and strategic levels to identify common areas of interest and understand India’s technological priorities in the sector
Maritime Cover Courtesy: Wikipedia
22 December 2016 Gateway House

India-EU: maritime security cooperation

With common objectives in the Indo-Pacific, the maritime sphere is a good opportunity for India and the EU to deepen cooperation. They must focus on preventing outbreak of an inter-state armed conflict; addressing maritime piracy; adhering to the UNCLOS; and developing maritime infrastructure and the blue economy in the region
BIMSTEC Courtesy: Google Earth
20 October 2016 Gateway House

BRICS/BIMSTEC’s maritime portents

The recent BRICS summit and BIMSTEC outreach highlighted some laudable maritime endeavours linking geographically distant, emerging economies within the grouping. The BIMSTEC platform is also crucial to India's efforts to create a peaceful Bay of Bengal community through economic and cultural linkages.
russia pak military exercises Courtesy: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation
29 September 2016 Gateway House

Russia’s zero sum games in Asia

Russia's decision to go ahead with joint military exercises with Pakistan is the latest move in Putin's flexible and pragmatic Asian foreign policy playbook. However, whether it will be worth having provoked Indian ire remains to be seen.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Courtesy: http://nausena-bharti.nic.in/
11 August 2016 Gateway House

Maritime India’s Global Destiny

With the 21st century being heralded as the 'century of the seas', there is much need for India to reclaim its historically dominant maritime position in civilian and military endeavours.

Tokat_darbe_karşıtları Courtesy: Wikipedia
27 July 2016 Gateway House

The beginning of the end for Erdogan

The attempted coup on July 15 in Turkey as well as its aftermath have irreparably dented President Erdogan’s international image and impacted Turkey's standing as a democratic state, a military power, a NATO member, an EU aspirant, and an emerging economy. This downtrend is unlikely to be reversed in the near future and the country is in for an extended period of instability