BEIJING — The United States won a significant victory on Tuesday in its efforts to counter China’s rising influence in the South China Sea, as the highest court in the Philippines cleared the way for American troops to return to the country.

The Philippine Supreme Court, in a 10-to-4 decision, approved an agreement that would allow the American military to station troops and weapons at bases in the Philippines, a former American territory, more than two decades after lawmakers in Manila voted to expel American troops in a show of anti-colonialism.

The decision seemed likely to heighten tensions between the United States and China, which is seeking to establish itself as a dominant power in the region by building military facilities on top of submerged reefs in the South China Sea, a major shipping route.

“The South China Sea will be more crowded, and the risk for a military conflict will continue to rise,” said Zhu Feng, the executive director of the China Center for Collaborative Studies of the South China Sea at Nanjing University.