About the Event:

Join us for an exciting event where experts will discuss the maritime security challenges in the Indian Ocean Region. This in-person event will be held at Bush House, SE Building, Room 2.12. Don't miss this opportunity to gain insights from renowned speakers and engage in thought-provoking discussions. Discover the latest strategies, policies, and perspectives on safeguarding the maritime domain. Be part of the conversation and network with like-minded individuals. Register now to secure your spot!

Speaker:

Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan AVSM & Bar, VSM (Retd)

An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the Defence Services Staff College, the Naval War College, and the National Defence College, with BSc, MSc and MPhil degrees under his belt, Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan, AVSM & Bar, VSM, is currently the Director-General of the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi, which is India’s foremost resource centre for the development and advocacy of strategies for the promotion and protection of India’s maritime interests.

The admiral retired on 30 November 2013 after an illustrious, rich, and varied four-decade-long career in the Executive Branch of the Indian Navy. This included a stint in Antarctica, as also a three-year deputation to the Government of Mauritius, where he set up and commanded the Mauritius National Coast Guard. His sea-going service incorporates as many as four command-appointments. After doing the 42nd NDC, he was the Principal Director of National Operations and thereafter went on to command the Indian Navy’s sole aircraft carrier of that period, the Viraat. As a Rear Admiral, he was the Navy’s first Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Foreign Cooperation & Intelligence), where he conceptualised and executed the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS). As a Vice Admiral, he has been Chief of Staff of the Western Naval Command; and was, in his last naval appointment before retirement, the Commandant of the Indian Naval Academy (Ezhimala). He has been commended three times by the President of India for sustained distinguished service. Not one to rest on past laurels, he has remained active even after retirement and is a much sought-after thought-leader and leadership mentor. Apart from being on the visiting faculty of the higher-command establishments of all three of India’s defence services, as also tri-Service establishments such as the College of Defence Management, Hyderabad and the National Defence College, New Delhi, he has also been advising the government through his interaction with the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Navy), the Ministry of External Affairs, and the National Security Council Secretariat. He is, in addition, a prolific writer with over 95 published professional articles and papers, and, a respected Adviser and Fellow of several important think-tanks.

Chair:

Professor Alessio Patalano

Alessio Patalano is Professor of War & Strategy in East Asia at the Department of War Studies (DWS), King’s College London (KCL) where he specialises in maritime strategy and doctrine, Japanese military history and strategy, East Asian security, and British defence policy towards the Indo-Pacific. Prof Patalano is the Director of the King’s Japan Programme and the newly established Indo-Pacific Programme at the Centre for Grand Strategy, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS), a Visiting Professor at the Japan Maritime Command and Staff College (JMCSC), and an Adjunct Fellow at the Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies, Temple University Japan.He is a Senior Fellow at the think tanks Policy Exchange, Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), and Sir Herbert Richmond Fellow on naval strategy at the Council on Geostrategy.

He is also visiting fellow at the Royal Navy Centre for Strategic Studies (RNCSS) and non-resident fellow at the Royal Australian Navy Seapower Centre. From 2006 to 2015, he was visiting professor at the Italian Naval War College (ISMM), Venice. In Japan, Prof Patalano has held affiliations at Aoyama Gakuin University, the National Defence Academy, and at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS). In 2022, Prof Patalano became the first specialist advisor on the Indo-Pacific to the Foreign Affairs Committee in the UK Parliament. Prof Patalano is an active media commentator and writer (Nikkei, The Spectator); he collaborates on international documentaries, and is also regularly involved in military education, developing and delivering programmes on East Asian affairs.

You can register to secure your spot here.