Moscow warns against use of force in eastern Ukraine

 Russia warned Kiev authorities against attempts to revert to use of force to resolve the Ukraine crisis, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.

Ukraine: senior UN official decry use of excessive force as protests intensify

20 February 2014 – As the casualties mount in and around crisis-riven Kiev, so have the calls for restraint from senior United Nations officials, who today once again urged the authorities in Ukraine to exercise restraint amidst a fiery stand-off with anti-Government protestors.
“I continue to strongly appeal to all involved to cease the violence, and for the Ukrainian authorities to refrain from excessive use of force,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York.
“I am appalled by the use of firearms by both the police and protesters,” stressed Mr. Ban, who has been in contact with President Viktor Yanukovych. “I urge all parties to immediately resume a genuine dialogue.”

Japan's PM warns China on use of force as jets scrambled. -Senkaku/Diaoyu issue.

AFP - Japan's leader has warned China against forcibly changing the regional balance of power, as reports Sunday said his government had scrambled fighter jets in response to Chinese military aircraft flying near Okinawa.
Verbal skirmishing between Asia's two biggest economies escalated after Beijing warned Tokyo that any hostile action in the skies against Chinese aircraft would be construed as an "act of war".
"There are concerns that China is attempting to change the status quo by force, rather than by rule of law," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in an interview following a series of summits this month with regional leaders.
"But if China opts to take that path, then it won't be able to emerge peacefully," he told the Wall Street Journal.