Vietnam has demanded that China remove an oil exploration rig from a sea area where the countries are still negotiating a delineation of control.
Foreign Minstry spokesman Le Hai Binh said that Vietnam opposes China's actions and urges China to contribute to peace and stability in the region.
The Haiyang Shiyou oil rig was at the center of standoff between the countries in 2014 when China parked the oil rig near the Paracel islands that Vietnam claims as its exclusive economic zone.
The incident sparked deadly riots in Vietnam.
Binh said in a statement that the start of operations of a lighthouse on one of the seven artificial islands China had built in the South China Sea was "illegal and invalid."
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