Obama reassures allies, but doubts over "pivot" to Asia persist

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to U.S. and Filipino troops at the Fort Bonifacio Gymnasium in Manila, April 29, 2014. REUTERS/Al Falcon

MANILA (Reuters) - From the elaborate details of a Japanese state visit to the more mundane question of how much face-time to give each of his Asian hosts, President Barack Obama’s aides spent months meticulously scripting his four-country tour of the region.

But as the week-long trip wrapped up on Tuesday it was clear that, while Obama scored points with sceptical allies simply by showing up, not everything followed the White House plan.