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No matter how many times President Barack Obama insists the U.S. is committed to being a Pacific power, the skeptics remain unconvinced.

Yesterday, he tried again, saying the U.S. has an ironclad commitment to its allies and that American leadership in the Asia-Pacific will always be a fundamental focus of my foreign policy.

With little more than 26 months left in his presidency, that reassurance may offer Americas allies scant comfort. To cement the Asian rebalancing that he ordered three years ago, the president stressed the long-term nature of the U.S. role in the Pacific.

Generations of Americans have served and died in the Asia-Pacific so that the people of the region might live free, Obama said in a speech at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. So no one should ever question our resolve or our commitment to our allies.

Nearly 80,000 American GIs were stationed in Brisbane at the peak of World War II, one sign that the U.S. Pacific role is anchored in history. And the president made his remarks on a university campus to a crowd of about 1,500, including many students who will live in a world shaped by current U.S. policy.

If similar presidential vows had been heard before, this time the president added an appeal tailored to the young. Obama underscored the need for action on climate change, saying the region -- including its low-lying island states -- are among the most vulnerable to the effects of a warming planet.

Fighting climate change cannot be the work of government alone, Obama said, adding that citizens, especially the next generation need to make their voices heard to avoid seeing Australia ravaged by more frequent droughts and wildfires.

The presidents climate remarks were striking, too, since Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, the host of the Group of 20 summit Obama is attending, has expressed skepticism about scientific findings on the subject. The presidents call for young Australians to act drew repeated, sustained applause.

It was as much a speech to peoples, as it was to nations, an acknowledgment that states do not alone solve our global problems such as on carbon emissions, said Elvin Lim, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore. In doing this, Obama was playing the long game of winning hearts and minds.

That has been part of the administrations strategy for some time. In April, the White House scheduled a presidential speech at the University of Malaysia during a brief visit to the country, the first trip by an American president to Malaysia since Lyndon Johnson in 1966 during the Vietnam War.

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Obama Plays Long Game in Building Asia-Pacific Influence