BEIJING — The United States won a significant victory 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 US troops to return to the country.

The Philippine Supreme Court, in a 10-4 decision, approved an agreement that would allow the US military to station troops and weapons at bases in the Philippines, more than two decades after lawmakers in Manila voted to expel US troops in a show of anti-colonialism. The Philippines was a US territory from 1898 to 1946.

The decision came as the foreign and defense chiefs of the Philippines were in Washington preparing to meet with their US counterparts on Tuesday to discuss dealing with Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea. It highlighted the shifting alliances in the region as China moves aggressively to build military facilities on top of submerged reefs in the disputed waters.

The Obama administration has sought to deter China’s efforts by increasing sea patrols in the region and providing more military aid to allies like the Philippines. But it has had little effect, and China has moved swiftly to build airstrips, military buildings, and port facilities on top of artificial islands in the sea.

The 10-year agreement with the Philippines, reached in 2014, was seen as a critical way of enhancing US power in the region, giving the Americans a stronghold less than 500 miles from the islands built by the Chinese.

But for nearly two years, it languished, falling victim to legal challenges and a sluggish judicial system, dealing a setback to President Obama’s efforts to shift military resources to Asia.

On Tuesday, leaders in the Philippines praised the Supreme Court decision. Sonny Coloma, a spokesman for President Benigno S. Aquino III, said the agreement would bring a “generational leap’’ for the defense capabilities of the Philippines, which has one of the weakest militaries in Asia.

Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV, chairman of the national defense and security committee, said a stronger US presence allows the Philippines to protect itself from China’s advances.

“It will have some psychological effect on the Chinese, knowing that the Philippines won’t be alone in this part of the world anymore,’’ he said.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not comment on the court’s decision. In the past, it has accused the United States of unnecessarily militarizing the region and threatening peace.

Zhu Feng, the executive director of the China Center for Collaborative Studies of the South China Sea at Nanjing University, said the agreement would raise the risk of a military confrontation.

“The South China Sea will be more crowded, and the risk for a military conflict will continue to rise,’’ he said.

China claims much of what the Philippines considers its own 200-mile exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, but the largest ship that the Philippine navy has to defend the area is a second-hand US Coast Guard cutter. The Philippines has just two functioning fighter jets.

The Philippine military has identified several possible locations facing China where it would like new US facilities built and operated.