If you wish to avoid foreign collision, you had better abandon the ocean.

Clay’s remark frames maritime commerce and naval presence as inherently entangling: a nation that trades, fishes, or projects power on the seas will inevitably encounter rival claims, blockades, seizures, and diplomatic crises. The line is a rebuttal to the hope that the United States could enjoy the benefits of oceanic trade while remaining insulated from “foreign collisions.” Implicitly, it argues that avoiding international conflict requires not merely restraint in policy but withdrawal from the very arena—global shipping lanes—where great-power competition plays out. The quote thus supports a realist view of foreign relations: geography and economic activity can force engagement regardless of a nation’s preferences.