India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has renewed calls for a maritime agreement that would make international waters more secure amid increasingly tense territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

After meeting Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday, Modi says they reiterated their commitment to a rules-based order for maritime security and called for an open, fair and transparent agreement.

China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial to global trade. Beijing has rejected accusations it's militarizing the area and has been working with the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to reach a code of conduct to avoid frictions.

Modi will give a keynote address on Friday at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security conference.